f.  •:  E  i  e 
I   LIBRARY 

I     UNIVERSITY  OP    1 
VcAllPORNIA/ 


From  the  collection  of  the 


Prelinger 

i     a 

Uibrary 

p 


San  Francisco,  California 
2006 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OP 
CALIFORNIA 


Frontispiece. 


THE    LAPLANDERS 


GLIMPSES 


OF 


THE  WONDERFUL: 

A  SERIES  OP 

INSTRUCTIVE   SKETCHES 

FOR  THE  YOUNG. 
EDITED  BY  EEV.  I.  D.  WILLIAMSON,  D.D. 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  NUMEROUS  ELEGANT  ENGRAVINGS, 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED  BY  G.  COLLINS, 

N.  W.  COR.  SIXTH  &  ARCH. 
1858. 


Education 


GIFT 


Vt/ff 

EDUC.- 
PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


CONTENTS. 


PEEPS   THROUGH   THE   MICROSCOPE             .           .           .  .         7 

THE   PiCRILS    OP   THE   DEEP      .            .,..*•  .19 

THE   CUTTLE-FISH     •         . '-    *-.           .    .       *          V    ;       •  •      ^0 

MOUNTAINS   IN    THE    MOON      .            .                         •            .  .38 

ARCHES    UNDER    CONSTANTINOPLE    .            .            .            .  .42 

THE   ROOTS    OF   THE   BANIAN    TREE              .            .            .  .51 

THE   DIAMOND          .           ..            .            .            ...  .56 

THE   LAPLANDERS           "  ,            .            ,'                       .            .  .64 

SHIP-BUILDING        .            .            .          :.            .            .            .  .72 

THE    STEAM-SHIP    ........      88 

THE    CAVE    OF   ELEPHANTA       .            .            .            .            .  .95 

PEARL   DIVING       ^ .98 

ANCIENT   PUNISHMENTS  ......    104 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN Ill 

THE   BLOOD   AND   HAIR 121 

ASTRONOMY 124 

THE   MOON              .                                  135 

ICEBERGS                 141 

THE  EAGLE »           r  !       .  146 

CONCLUSION           •                     '*'•».•»  154 


Drop  of  Water  Magnified. 


GLIMPSES  OF  THE  WONDERFUL. 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 

WHEN  contemplating  the  magnitude  and  distances  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  we  are  overwhelmed  with  astonish- 
ment arid  awe  ;  and,  as  we  turn  away  from  the  glories 
revealed  to  us  by  the  telescope,  we  are  ready  to  sink  into 
dust  at  the  comparison  of  our  own  utter  insignificance. 
"  Surely,"  we  say,  "  such  pigmy  insects  as  we  are  can 
never  occupy  a  moment's  care  from  that  awful  Being  who 
has  framed  the  boundless  wonders  of  the  heavens — who 
has  scattered,  like  gold-dust,  throughout  the  immeasurable 
depths  of  space,  worlds  upon  worlds,  compared  to  the 
least  of  which  our  earth,  with  all  its  inhabitants,  its 
"  everlasting  hills,"  its  rivers  and  its  seas,  is  but  a  speck 
in  creation.  Surely,  wTe  are  tempted  to  say,  the  very  ex- 
istence of  such  a  mere  atom  as  man  must  be  forgotten  by 
Him  whom  the  very  heaven  of  heavens  cannot,  contain. 
We  think  only  of  the  greatness  of  His  power :  we  forget 
the  greatness  of  His  goodness — we  forget,  perhaps,  that 
weak  and  insignificant  as  we  are,  there  are  myriads  of 


8  PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 

living  creatures  swarming  around  us,  each  one  framed 
with  the  nicest  skill — each  endowed  with  capacities  of 
enjoyment — each  having  some  service  to  perform  in 
creation — whose  very  existence  was  unknown  to  us,  until 
the  microscope  gave  to  the  human  eye  some  ten  thousand 
times  the  power  of  vision  it  possessed  before.  By  its 
means,  we  find  fresh  proofs  of  that  which  the  Book  of  In- 
spiration has  already  taught — proofs  that  the  same  Divine 
power,  wisdom,  and  benevolence  which  bade  to  roll  in 
glory  and  brightness,  through  myriads  of  ages,  suns 
mightier  far  than  that  which  illumines  our  sky,  disdains 
not  to  contrive  and  to  provide  for  the  pleasures  of  the 
smallest  insect  that  sports  for  an  hour  in  the  summer's 
light,  and  then  dies. 

"  Will  He  not  care  for  you,  ye  faithless  ?     Say, 
Is  He  unwise,  or  are  we  less  than  they  ?" 

Yes, — every  tiny  leaf,  every  drop  of  water,  is  a  world 
in  which  multitudes  of  God's  creatures  are  born,  with 
frames  of  workmanship  as  curious  and  as  wondrous  as 
ours ;  and  there  they  live  and  sport  with  evident  enjoyment 
throughout  their  little  day,  fulfil  the  end  of  their  tiny 
being,  and  then  give  way  to  new  generations.  Look  at 
this  cut ! — it  represents  a  single  drop  of  water,  such  a 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE.  9 

drop  as  may  be  hung  trembling  upon  a  pin's  point — ay, 
one  that,  as  it  glitters  in  the  light,  seems  to  the  naked 
eye  pure  and  free  from  any  mixture  of  substance  in  its 
clear  fluid ;  and  yet  it  swarms  with  life  in  many  forms. 
Looking  through  a  powerful  microscope  at  that  tiny  drop, 
we  may  see  creatures  of  shapes  like  those  depicted  there, 
and  many  more  besides ;  but  all  endowed  with  power  of 
motion  evidently  voluntary,  either  in  frolic  gambol,  or  in 
search  of  food.  As  we  watch  their  movements,  fresh 
forms  appear  and  disappear  to  make  way  for  new  gener- 
ations, which  quickly  perish  in  their  turn.  Even  for 
the  pleasures  and  the  needs  of  beings  such  as  these,  whose 
universe  is  a  drop  of  water,  God  provides  ;  and  shall  He 
not  care  for  us  ? 

The  microscope  strikingly  exhibits  the  superiority  of 
the  works  of  nature  over  those  of  art.  Examined  through 
its  magic  lens,  the  finest,  the  most  delicate  engraving 
looks  coarse  and  harsh — lines  meant  to  be  smooth  and 
accurate,  appear  rugged  and  distorted — its  most  carefully 
measured  spaces  are  found  to  be  grossly  incorrect  and 
unequal — the  finest  needle  that  man  can  make  appears 
as  rough  and  pointless  as  the  kitchen  poker — the  most 
delicate  tissue  of  silk  or  lace  presents  the  appearance  of  an 
irregular  and  confused  assemblage  of  rough  hempen  cables. 


10 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 


On  the  other  hand,  examine  the  leaf  of  a  tree  ; — everj 
line  is  true  and  perfect ;  the  net-work  that  forms  its 
frame  shows  that  the  intention  of  the  Artificer  is  fully 
carried  out,  in  reality  as  well  as  in  appearance  ;  the  sting 
of  a  wasp  appears  through  the  microscope,  as  to  tht 
naked  eye,  a  smooth  shaft,  polished  and  pointed  with  the 
nicest  accuracy ;  the  gossamer  thread  that  floats  on  the 
breeze  proves  to  be  an  assemblage  of  the  finest  lines,  each 
individual  of  which  is  as  fine  and  smooth  in  the  micro- 
scope that  magnifies  a  thousand  times,  as  to  the  imper- 
fections of  our  natural  vision  appears  the  cluster  formed 
by  their  union. 

The  hair  of  our  heads 
is  found  to  be  a  tube 
I  growing  from  a  bulbous 
I  root  sunk  into  the  skin, 
f  and  deriving  its  nourish- 
ment from  the  body,  just 
as  vegetable  bulbs  do  theirs 
from'  the  earth.  In  fact, 
the  hair  appears  to  have  a  principle  of  life  independent, 
in  some  degree,  of  the  rest  of  the  frame,  as  if  it  were 
a  vegetable  rather  than  an  animal  substance  ;  for  there 
are  well  authenticated  instances  of  the  hair  of  the  head 


PEEPS  THROUGH    HIE  MICROSCOPE.  11 

and  the  beard  growing  to  considerable  length  after 
death. 

The  whiskers  of  a  lion, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  cat 
tribe  in  general,  have  an 
office  distinct  from  that  of 
ordinary  hair  in  general. 
Those  animals  creep  stealth- 
. '  whiskers  of  a  non.  ily  on  their  prey  in  the  dark, 

frequently  amid  many  obstructions,  from  the  crockery- 
crowded  shelves  where  puss  steals  along  after  mice, 
to  the  tangled  jungle  of  an  African  or  Asiatic  forest, 
where  the  lion  or  the  tiger  crouches  in  preparation 
for  the  deadly  spring.  The  long,  stiff  whiskers  spring 
outward  from  the  muzzle,  and  their  terminations,  form- 
ing an  irregular  circle  at  least  equal  to  the  space 
occupied  by  the  body  of  the  animal,  come  in  con- 
tact with  any  object  in  the  neighborhood,  and  give  warn- 
ing to  the  creature  to  avoid,  by  any  noise,  alarming 
the  prey  of  which  it  is  in  pursuit.  They  are,  in  fact, 
feelers  with  a  high  degree  of  sensibility,  being  inserted 
into  the  skin,  not  by  a  broad  bulb,  but  by  a  stiffer  and 
sharper  root,  so  as  to  press  more  decidedly  upon  the 
nerves,  and  give  the  animals  speedy  and  accurate  Intel- 


12  PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 

ligence  of  its  approach  to  any  object,  and  its  shape  and 
direction. 

The  bristles  of  a  hog  have 
their  origin  in  a  sheath  rising 
from  a  small  papilla.  This 
papilla  is  full  of  an  oily  se- 
cretion,  and  it  is  this  which, 
by  keeping  the  skin,  when 
prepared  after  the  animal's 
death,  soft  and  lissom  and  impervious  to  moisture,  makes 
a  pig's  skin  so.  well  adapted  for  saddles. 

The  skin  of  a  negro  seems 
admirably  fitted  for  the  burn- 
ing climate  he  inhabits.  It  is 
very  smooth,  and  feels  always 
much  cooler  than  that  of  a 
white  man  under  the  same 
skin  of  a  Negro.  circumstances.  This  appears 

due  to  the  minute  vessels  which  pervade  it,  and  which,  by 
the  dark  fluid  they  contain,  give  to  the  negro  his  distin 
guishing  color.  The  freckles  caused  in  persons  of  verj 
.fair  complexion  by  exposure  to  the  sun,  and  the  tan  or  sun- 
burn in  those  of  a  darker  hue,  arise  from  the  same  cause 
as  the  dark  color  of  the  negro,  only  of  course  in  a  much 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE.  13 

less  degree.  The  action  of  the  sun's  heat  appears  to  stim- 
ulate the  net-work  of  small  vessels  that  pervade  the  skin, 
thus  causing  them  to  discharge  an  increased  secretion  of 
carbon. 

Dr.  Carpenter  says,  "  In  most  parts  of  the  human  skin 
which  are  liable  to  rub  against  each  other,  we  find  a  con- 
siderable number  of  sebaceous  follicles,  which  secrete  a 
fatty  substance,  that  keeps  the  skin  soft  and  smooth. 
These  are  abundant  on  the  most  exposed  parts  of  the  face, 
and  their  secretion  prevents  the  skin  from  drying  up  and 
cracking,  which  it  would  be  liable  to  do  under  the  influ- 
ence of  sun  and  air.  They  are  more  numerous  in  the 
skins  of  negroes,  producing  in  them  the  oily  sleekness  for 
which  they  are  generally  remarkable,  and  which  prevents 
their  skins  from  suffering  by  exposure  to  a  tropical  sun. 
It  has  been  lately  discovered,  that  even  in  persons  of 
cleanly  habits,  each  of  these  follicles  is  the  residence  of  a 
minute  insect,  closely  resembling  the  cheese-mite." 

The  skin  of  the  camel  and  that  of  the  porpoise,  are 
widely  different  in  character,  but  each  adapted  for  the 
circumstances  and  situation  of  the  animal  which  it  covers. 

The  porpoise,  like  the  whale,  being  a  warm-blooded 
animal,  and  frequenting  the  seas  of  different  and  changing 
climates,  requires  complete  protection  from  the  great  and 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 


rapid  changes  of  temperature  to  which  it  is  exposed.  It 
is  evident  that  a  covering  of  fur  or  hair,  the  usual  means 
of  protection  from  cold  bestowed  upon  land  animals,  would 
greatly  impede  the  progress  of  creatures  intended,  like  the 
whale,  the  dolphin,  and  the  porpoise,  to  move  rapidly 
through  such  a  resisting  medium  as  water.  The  two  ob- 
jects, protection  frqm  alternations  of  heat  and  cold  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  a  smooth  unctuous  surface, 
from  which  the  water  may  glide  without  being  absorbed 
or  attracted,  are  both  attained  by  the  adoption  of  a  smooth 
skin  lined  with  a  thick  coating  of  fat.  which  prevents  the 
animal  heat  necessary  to  the  constitution  of  the  creature 
being  too  rapidly  lowered  by  the  conducting  power  of  the 
surrounding  water. 


Skin  of  the  Porpoise. 


Skin  of  the  Camel. 


Contrasted  with  this,  the  camel  is  destined  to  inhabit 
the  dry  hot  countries  of  Eastern  and  Central  Asia,  and  to 
traverse  deserts  whose  light  sands  are  frequently  whirled 


PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 


Feathers  of  the 


and  driven  in  a  stifling  cloud  which  penetrates  every  ob* 
ject  it  meets.  As  a  protection  from  this,  the  camel's  skin 
is  hard  and  tough,  covered  with  a  few  thin  scattered  hairs, 
except  in  particular  places,  where  it  grows  in  tufts  ;  and  in 
those  parts  of  the  body  and  limbs  which  support  the  animal 
when  it  kneels  or  lies  down,  the  skin  is  thickened  into  cal- 
losities that  resist  the  weight  that  presses  upon  them. 

These  feathers  are 
represented,  not  as  mi- 
croscopic objects,  but 
as  they  appear  to  the 
naked  eye.  They  are 
admirable  examples  of 
their  class,  and  well  ex- 
hibit the  difference  be- 
tween a  wing  and  a 
tail-feather.  The  owl 
is  well  known  to  be  a 
bird  of  prey  which  seeks 
its  food, — small  birds, 
mice,  rats,  and  reptiles, 
— by  night.  It  skims  owl.  Peacock, 

along  the  hedge-rows  and  by  the  farm  buildings  so  noise- 
lessly, that  the  timid  little  creatures  it  seeks  are  not  aware 


16  PEEPS  THROUGH  THE  MICROSCOPE. 

of  its  presence  till  it  pounces  upon  them.  This  smooth, 
noiseless  flight,  so  different  from  the  loud  flapping  of  wings 
caused  by  birds  of  other  habits  and  pursuits,  (rooks  and 
pigeons,  for  instance,)  is  obtained  by  the  peculiar  formation 
of  its  pinions.  The  quills  are  covered  beneath  with  a  fine 
down,  which  prevents  their  rattling  one  upon  another  in 
the  motion  of  flying,  and  the  plumage  lining  each  side  of 
every  quill  is  also  edged  with  a  smooth  down,  which  dead- 
ens the  vibration  of  the  air  under  the  stroke  of  the  owl's 
wing. 

The  pinion  feathers  of  most  birds  are  enabled  to  pre- 
serve their  broad  van-like  form,  in  spite  of  the  resistance 
of  the  air  during  the  rapid  and  powerful  action  of  the  bird 
in  flying,  by  means  of  an  edging,  both  serrated  (or  saw- 
like)  and  hooked,  by  which  each  separate  filament  which 
forms  the  van  of  the  feather  is  locked  into  the  one  on  each 
side  of  it.  Any  one  may  see  an  example  of  it  by  ex- 
amining the  feather  of  a  common  goose-quill.  The  tail 
feathers  of  the  peacock,  which  are  not  used  by  the  bird  in 
flying  do  not  require  this  serrated  edging,  but  hang  loosely 
and  gracefully  from  each  other,  until  meeting  at  the  "  eye," 
they  there  form  the  smooth,  glossy  assemblage  of  brilliant 
colors  for  which  the  peacock  is  so  conspicuous  and  so  well 
known. 


1 


PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP. 

WHEN  we  see  a  large  ship  of  war  at  anchor  in  the 
smooth  water  of  a  harbor,  or  river,  and  gaze  upward  at 
the  huge  hull  whose  bulging  sides,  serried  with  grim  can- 
non, rise  like  an  overhanging  mountain  abo€fc  the  tiny 
boat  in  which  we  steal  timidly  beneath  her  dark  shadow, 
OUT  first  thought  is,  that  it  must  be  impossible  for  any  waves, 
however  stormy,  materially  to  affect  the  security  and  equi- 
librium of  so  vast  a  mass  : — our  second  recalls  to  mind  the 
"  ower  true  tale"  of  many  a  vessel  as  gallant  and  as  ma- 
jestic, utterly  shipwrecked,  and  bids  us  shrink  at  the  might 
of  those  winds  and  waves  which  can  toss  in  wild  play  and 
dash  to  atoms  the  mightiest  work  of  man,  as  if  it  were  but 
a  light  seaweed  on  the  raging  foam. 

There  she  lies,  as  if  imbedded  firmly  as  a  rock,  motion- 
less in  the  clear  fluid  which  gently  heaves  and  ripples 
around  her  : — her  tall  masts,  with  all  their  "  tracery"  of 
spars  and  cordage,  shooting  erect  and  fair  into  the  sky  : — 
and  to  a  landsman  it  requires  an  effort  of  thought  to  pic- 
ture that  which  now  appears  the  very  image  of  magnifi- 

19 


20  PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP. 

cent  repose,  of  immoveable  stability,  transformed  into  a 
shattered  wreck,  "driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed," — 
plunging  and  heaving,  with  restless  struggling,  amidst  op- 
posing billows,  the  veriest  toy  for  the  sport  of  old  ocean, 
in  his  wildest  freaks. 

"  They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, — that  do  busi- 
ness in  great  waters, — these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord  and 
His  wonders  in  the  deep." 

Among^he  many  perils  of  the  sea,  one  of  the  most- 
remarkable  and  uncommon  is  the  subject  of  the  annexed 
cut,  which  is  intended  to  represent  the  Maelstroom,  a 
fearful  whirlpool  which  exists  south  of  the  Loffoden  Isles, 
off  the  rocky  and  deeply-indented  coast  of  Norway. 
Various  speculations  have  been  entered  into  as  to  the 
cause  of  this  extraordinary  whirlpool,  and  some  have 
gone  so  far  as  to  account  for  it  by  imagining  the  existence 
of  a  vast  hollow  at  the  bottom  of  this  part  of  the  ocean, 
by  which  the  waters  of  the  Northern  Ocean  have  a  sub 
terranean  communication  with  the  Baltic  sea  on  the  other 
side  of  Norway.  Its  existence,  however,  appears  to  be 
sufficiently  accounted  for  without  resorting  to  so  extraoi- 
dinary  a  notion  as  this ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
extent  and  violence  of  this  whirlpool,  like  those  of  Scylla 
and  Charybdis  in  ancient  times,  have  been  somewhat  ex- 


PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP.  21 

aggerated :  or  rather,  perhaps,  that  to  the  smaller  vessel 
and  less  skilful  mariners  of  former  ages  the  danger  was 
much  greater  than  it  is  to  modern  navigators. 

The  force  of  the  Maelstroom  increases  and  diminishes 
with  the  changes  of  the  tides,  and  the  simple  fact  appears 
to  be,  that  at  this  part  of  the  ocean  two  tides,  flowing  in 
different  directions,  meet  twice  during  the  twenty-four 
hours,  and  by  their  meeting,  in  a  part  hemmed  in  as  it 
were  by  the  direction  and  shape  of  the  islands  and  main- 
land of  this  part  of  Norway,  the  waters  are  whirled  round 
with  great  rapidity,  and,  as  in  all  similar  circumstances, 
they  are  heaped  up  at  the  circumference  of  the  whirlpool 
and  depressed  into  a  hollow  at  its  centre,  until  it  really 
has  the  appearance  of  being  sucked  in,  and  disappearing 
through  some  abyss. 

A  somewhat  similar  effect,  but  to  a  much  less  extent,  is 
produced  by  the  same  cause  off  the  Isle  of  Portland,  on 
the  south  coast  of  England.  It  is  there  called  "  the  Race 
of  Portland"  and  vessels  guided,  by  inexperienced  or  un- 
watchful  steersmen  may  get  drawn  in  and  dashed  upon 
the  shore,  beyond  the  possibility  of  escape,  by  the  mere 
force  of  the  whirling  current,  caused  by  one  tide  rolling  up 
the  channel  from  the  Atlantic,  meeting  another  tide  rush- 
ing from  the  North  Sea  through  the  Straits  of  Dover. 


22  PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP. 

Another  and  a  more  common  peril  of  the  deep,  is  that 
arising  from  rocks  wholly  or  partially  covered  by  the  wa- 
ter. Great  care  is  taken  to  lay  down  most  accurately  the 
position  of  such  as  these  in  all  nautical  charts,  and  equal 
or  still  greater  care  and  watchfulness  are  required  by  the 
mariner  to  ascertain  the  exact  position  of  his  vessel  on  the 
trackless  ocean,  so  as  to  avoid  the  spot  where  such  rocks 
lie  hid.  It  has  been  well  said,  that  the  sailor  dreads  the 
land  more  than  the  sea.  When  near  the  shore,  although 
that  shore  be  his  country,  the  home  of  all  he  holds  dear, 
the  anxious  captain  paces  the  deck  night  after  night,  con- 
stantly consults  the  barometer,  takes  frequent  celestial  ob- 
servations, to  ascertain  the  exact  position  of  his  vessel,  and 
dreads  above  all  things  a  bewildering  fog  on  a  lee  shore. 
The  same  captain,  when  in  the  centre  of  the  Atlantic,  a 
thousand  miles  away  from  land,  can,  if  his  ship  be  sound 
and  well  appointed,  sleep  soundly  at  night,  amidst  the 
roaring  of  the  wind  and  the  heaving  of  billows,  trusting  to 
the  ordinary  care  of  the  officers  of  the  night-watch,  who 
pace  the  deck  in  turns  during  the  hours  of  darkness,  while 
the  gallant  vessel  holds  qn  her  way  above  the  ocean 
depths. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  greater  safety  of  the  passen- 
gers and  crew  in  case  of  shipwreck,  it  is  now  becoming 


PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP.  25 

more  common  to  divide  the  interior  of  ships  into  several 
compartments,  each  separated  by  water-tight  divisions,  so 
that  if  from  a  leak  or  other  cause  any  one  compartment 
should  be  filled  with  water,  the  buoyancy  of  the  others 
would  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  ship  afloat,  and  give  those 
who  sail  in  her,  time  and  opportunity  to  provide  for  their 
escape. 

The  "  Great  Britain"  iron  steam-ship,  which  has  been 
before  alluded  to,  is  thus  provided,  and  the  material  of 
which  she  is  built  is  much  better  adapted  for  such  a  mode 
of  construction  than  wood,  as  a  degree  of  strength  is  ob- 
tained by  iron  plates  of  very  moderate  thickness,  superior 
to  that  afforded  by  massy  and  cumbersome  bulk-heads 
formed  of  timber. 

The  Great  Britain  carries  out  with  her  four  large  life- 
boats of  iron  and  two  boats  of  wood,  which  are  suspended 
over  the  sides  of  the  ship,  while  one  large  life-boat  is  on 
the  deck.  Four  hundred  persons  can  be  accommodated 
in  the  boats ;  to  which,  however,  we  may  hope  they  will 
not  have  to  resort,  in  consequence  of  shipwreck. 

A  life-boat  is  kept  at  most  of  the  principal  stations  round 
the  British  coast,  which  is  in  many  parts  very  dangerous 
to  mariners,  from  the  varied  dangers  of  rocks,  shoals, 
tides,  and  currents.  To  these  very  dangers,  perhaps,  the 


2(5  PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP. 

English  sailors  owe  their  superior  skill  and  courage, 
which  give  them  the  pre-eminence  in  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

One  can  hardly  mention  the  life-boat  without  thinking 
of  Grace  Darling,  a  young  woman  who  with  her  aged 
father,  the  keeper  of  the  Longstone  lighthouse,  on  the 
coast  of  Northumberland,  saved  the  surviving  crew  and 
passengers  of  the  Forfar  steamer,  which  had  struck  on  the 
rocks.  The  sea  was  raging  furiously,  but  this  noble  girl, 
forgetting  all  fear  in  her  desire  to  save  the  lives  of  her 
fellow-creatures,  braved  dangers  from  which  hardy  and 
skilful  seamen  shrunk,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
wreck  and  rescuing  nine  of  the  survivors.  Grace  Darling's 
name  immediately  became  the  theme  of  every  tongue ; 
the  lone  lighthouse,  where  the  shipwrecked  had  been  so 
hospitably  received,  became  the  resort  of  the  noble  and 
the  fashionable,  and  praises,  and  gifts,  and  honors,  from 
every  quarter,  were  showered  upon  the  heroine.  Under 
these  circumstances,  Grace  Darling  showed  a  strength  of 
mind  and  a  true  greatness  of  soul,  greater  even  than  that 
which  had  enabled  her  to  meet  the  raging  of  the  sea  at 
the  call  of  humanity.  Undazzled  by  the  glare  of  fame, 
untempted  by  the  offers  of  emolument,  which  flowed  from 
every  quarter,  she  lived  content  in  her  humble  home,  ful- 


CO 

*5* 
^ 

L 


PERILS  OF  THE  DEEP  29 

filling  to  the  last  her  daily  duties,  as  cheerfully  as  if  she 
had  never  been  aught  but  one  of  those — 

"  Of  whom  fame  speaks  not  with  her  clarion  voice," 

and  died  in  1842,  loved  and  regretted,  as  well  as  honored, 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven,  the  very  type  of  a  true- 
hearted  English  maiden,  gentle  and  brave. 


THE  CUTTLE-FISH. 


THE  cuttle-fish  is  a  strange-looking  creature,  whose  body 
is  enclosed  in  a  covering  shaped  like  a  bag,  with  an  opening 
in  front,  from  which  its  head  projects.  It  has  two  large 
eyes,  and  its  mouth  is  somewhat  like  a  parrot's  beak,  while 
its  lips  are  drawn  out  into  eight  long  arms.  When  it 
swims,  it  moves  backwards  through  the  water  ;  when  on 
shore,  it  walks  by  means  of  these  arms,  having  the  mouth 
turned  downwards,  and  the  opposite  part  of  the  body  in  an 
erect  position.  It  has  the  power  of  ejecting  water  by  means 
of  one  of  its  tubes,  and  sometimes  salutes  those  who  ap- 
proach too  near  its  hiding-place,  by  squirting  a  jet  of  watei 
upon  them,  and  making  a  slight  grating  noise.  On  the 
inner  side  of  its  long  slender  arms  is  a  number  of  suckers 
which  enable  it  to  hold  with  the  greatest  tenacity  whatever 
it  embraces :  its  arms  when  clasping  an  object  may  as 
easily  be  wrenched  from  its  body,  as  be  unfixed.  It  has  an 
organ  that  produces  an  abundance  of  black  liquid,  called 
»nk,  and  much  like  Indian  ink.  This  liquid  is  employed  by 
30 


THE  CUTTLE-FISH.  33 

painters,  and  called  sepia.  Some  instances  have  been  met 
with  in  which  this  ink  has  been  found  uninjured  in  fossil 
specimens,  and  has  been  taken  from  the  petrified  fish  and 
prepared  for  use.  In  our  seas  none  of  these  fishes  grow  to 
a  size  to  be  formidable  to  man  ;  but  that  in  other  latitudes 
they  become  perfect  monsters,  the  following  extract  from  the 
"  Museum  of  Animated  Nature"  will  abundantly  show  : — 
"  According  to  Deny  de  Montfort,  Dens,  a  navigator,  avowed 
that  in  the  African  seas,  while  three  of  his  men  were  em- 
ployed during  a  calm  in  scraping  the  sides  of  his  vessel, 
they  were  attacked  by  a  monster  of  this  kind,  which  sud- 
denly appeared,  seized  them  in  its  arms,  and  drew  two  of 
them  under  water  in  spite  of  every  effort  to  save  them ;  and 
that  the  thickness  of  one  of  the  creature's  arms,  which  was 
cut  off  in  the  contest,  was  at  its  base  equal  to  that  of  a  fore- 
yard,  whilst  the  suckers  were  of  the  size  of  ladles.  The 
man,  who  was  rescued,  died  delirious  during  the  night. 
We  read  of  another  crew  who  were  similarly  attacked  off 
the  coast  of  Angola:  a  gigantic  cuttle-fish  threw  its  arms 
across  the  vessel,  and  was  on  the  point  of  dragging  it  down, 
when  the  crew  succeeded  in  cutting  off  its  arms  with  swords 
and  hatchets.  Pennant  states  that  a  friend  of  his,  long 
resident  in  the  Indian  seas,  assured  him,  that  the  Indians 
affirm  that  cuttle-fish  are  often  seen  two  fathoms  broad  over 
their  centre,  with  arms  nine  fathoms  long  ;  and  that  when 


34  THE  CUTTLE-FISH. 

they  go  out  in  boats  they  are  afraid  of  them,  and  never  sah 
without  an  axe  for  protection.  Even  on  the  shores  of  Sicily, 
Mr.  Swainson  saw  cuttle-fishes  taken,  two  of  which  would 
,  be  a  good  load,  their  arms  being  as  thick  as  those  of  a 
man." 

Mr.  Beale  thus  describes  an  adventure  that  happened  to 
him,  when  searching  for  shells  upon  the  rocks  of  the  Bonin 
Islands.  He  was  much  astonished  at  seeing  at  his  feet  a 
most  extraordinary  looking  animal  crawling  towards  the 
surf,  which  it  had  only  just  left.  It  was  creeping  on  its 
eight  legs,  which  from  their  soft  arid  flexible  nature,  bent 
considerably  under  the  weight  of  its  body ;  so  that  it  was 
lifted  by  the  efforts  of  its  arms  only  a  small  distance  from 
the  rocks.  It  appeared  very  much  alarmed  at  seeing  him, 
and  made  every  effort  to  escape.  Mr.  Beale  endeavored  to 
stop  it,  by  pressing  on  one  of  its  legs  with  his  foot;  but 
although  he  used  considerable  force  for  that  purpose,  ita 
strength  was  so  great  that  it  several  times  liberated  ita 
member,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  he  could  employ  on  the 
wet  and  slippery  rocks.  He  then  laid  hold  of  one  of  the 
arms  with  his  hand,  and  held  it  so  firmly,  that  the  limb 
appeared  as  if  it  would  be  torn  asunder  between  them.  He 
then  gave  it  a  powerful  jerk,  wishing  to  disengage  it  from 
the  rocks  to  which  it  clung  so  forcibly  by  its  suckers.  This 
effort  it  effectually  resisted ;  but  the  moment  after  it  lifted 


THE  CUTTLE-FISH.  35 

its  head  with  its  large  projecting  eyes,  and,  loosing  its  hold 
upon  the  rocks  suddenly  sprang  on  his  arm,  which  he  had 
previously  bared  to  the  shoulder  for  the  purpose  of  thrust- 
ing it  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks  after  shells,  and  clung 
with  its  suckers  to  it  with  great  power,  endeavoring  to  get 
its  beak  into  a  position  to  bite.  Mr.  Beale  declares  that 
a  sensation  of  horror  crept  over  him,  when  he  found  this 
monster  had  fixed  itself  so  firmly  on  his  arm  ;  its  cold  si  my 
grasp  was  absolutely  sickening,  and  he  called  loudly  to  the 
captain  to  come  arid  release  him.  The  captain,  who  was 
a  little  distance  from  him,  speedily  hastened  to  his  help. 
He  took  him  down  to  the  boat,  during  which  time  Mr. 
Beale  was  keeping  off  with  his  hand  the  beak  of  the  cuttle- 
fish. Taking  the  boat-knife,  he  disengaged  portions  of  it  at 
a  time.  It  measured  across  its  expanded  arms  as  much  as 
four  feet  ;  while  its  body  was  not  bigger  than  a  large 
clenched  hand. 

Sometimes  it  ejects  its  ink  as  a  means  of  annoyance  to 
troublesome  visitors  ;  and  there  is  an  old  tale  of  one  of  them 
spirting  his  nasty  black  fluid  all  over  the  clean  white  trowsers 
of  a  gentleman  who  ventured  near  his  abode.  This  fluid 
was  used  by  the  ancients  as  ink,  and  the  flesh  of  these 
animals  regarded  as  delicate  food :  it  is  still  eaten  by  the 
Sandwich  islanders  ;  and  when  fresh  is  not  unlike  a  lob- 
ster's claw. 


36  THE  CUTTLE-FISH. 

A  writer  in  the  Penny  Cyclopedia  thus  remarks  : — "  We 
well  remember  in  our  youth  going  far  out  with  an  old  fish- 
erman of  Dawlish,  to  visit  his  floating  nets,  which  he  had 
laid  for  the  pilchards.  As  we  looked  down  into  the  clear 
blue  water  we  could  see  that  the  number  of  the  fish  entan- 
gled was  great ;  but  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  fisher- 
man, who  was  eloquent  on  the  occasion,  almost  every  other 
fish  was  locked  in  the  embraces  of  a  cuttle-fish,  plying  his 
parrot-like  mandibles  to  some  purpose.  The  fisherman, 
who  seemed  to  regard  these  unbidden  guests  as  an  incar- 
nation of  all  evil,  carried  a  capacious  landing  net,  but  so 
quick  was  the  sight  of  these  creatures,  so  ready  were  they 
in  letting  go,  and  agile  in  darting  back  or  sideways  clear  of 
the  net,  that,  though  the  greedy  things  held  on  to  the  last 
moment,  the  fisherman  did  not  secure  above  three  out  of 
the  crowds  that  had  spoiled  his  haul." 

They  are  much  used  as  baits  in  the  Newfoundland  cod- 
fishery;  and  in  the  stomachs  of  the  smaller  cetacea  great 
numbers  of  the  undigested  horny  mandibles  are  frequently 
found,  indicating  that  at  least  a  corresponding  number  of 
cuttle-fish  have  been  devoured  by  them. 

It  is  said  that  .Cuvier,  the  great  naturalist,  drew  his 
figure  of  the  cuttle-fish,  with  ink  extracted  from  its  own 
body.  Dr.  Buckland  also  possesses  the  drawings  of  extinct 
species  executed  in  their  own  ink;  and  from  the  perfection 


THE  CUTTLE-FISH.  37 

fulness  of  the  ink-bag-,  he  infers  the  sudden  destruction 
aad  rapid  petrifaction  of  these  animals. 

This  creature  is  pursued  by  the  grampus  and  cachalot, 
and  no  sooner  does  it  perceive  their  approach  than,  ejecting 
from  its  gland  a  quantity  of  this  black  inky  fluid,  it  escapes 
under  cover  of  the  murky  cloud  to  some  place  of  refuge  in 
the  sand  or  the  rock,  and  waits  in  safety  till  its  enemies  have 
retired. 

The  cuttle-bone  is  used  for  erasures,  and  manufactured 
into  the  pounce  of  the  shops.  This  bone  serves  the  purpose 
of  supponing  the  soft  parts  in  the  common  cuttle-fish;  in 
others  of  the  species  where  no  bone  is  found,  a  horny  01 
gristly  support  exists. 

How  many  strange  creatures  are  to  be  found  in  the  uni- 
verse, of  whose  habits  we  know  but  little,  and  whose  utility 
we  cannot  perceive  !  and  .yet  we  doubt  not  they  exist  foi 
some  wise  purpose  which  the  great  Artificer  has  fitted  them 
to  accomplish.  It  is  well  for  ourselves  and  other  works  of 
God's  hands  that  his  providence  is  not  exercised  according 
to  our  notions  of  importance  or  worth. 

"  Nought  is  great 

Nor  sraall  with  God — for  none  but  he  can  make 
The  atom  indivisible,  and  none 
But  he  can  make  a  world.     He  counts  the  orbs, 
He  counts  the  atoms  of  the  universe, 
And  makes  both  equal — both  are  infinite." 


MOUNTAINS  IN  THE  MOON. 

AT  the  present  day  by  means  of  telescopes,  and  the  labors 
of  learned  men,  we  actually  know  more  of  the  character 
and  appearance  of  the  moon's  surface,  though  it  is  two 
hundred  and  thirty  thousand  miles  distant,  than  we  do  of 
some  parts  of  our  own  globe. 

As  we  look  at  the  new  moon  with  the  naked  eye,  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  that  the  inner  circle  of  it  presents  an 
extremely  ragged  line,  while  the  outer  circle  is  very  nearly 
smooth.  When  we  examine  this  inner  edge  with  a  strong 
telescope,  we  find  a  great  number  of  luminous  points, 
which  grow  larger  as  the  sun  bears  upon  their  locality. 
Behind  these  spots  a  deep  shade  is  cast,  which  always 
moves  so  as  to  be  in  opposition  to  the  sun.  These  bright 
spots  are  the  summits  of  high  mountains,  on  which  the  sun 
shines  before  it  reaches  the  lower  parts;  the  deep  shade 
is  the  shadow  the  mountain  casts,  and  is  always  found  to 
be  in  exact  proportion  as  to  length  with  the  mountain, 
when  the  inclination  of  the  sun's  rays  is  taken  into  account. 
From  many  measurements  of  the  length  of  these  shadows, 
38 


MOUNTAINS  IN   THE  MOON.  89 

taken  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  the  height 
of  many  of  these  mountains  has  been  calculated.  The 
highest  is  found  to  be  about  one  English  mile  and  three- 
quarters  in  perpendicular  height,  a  much  less  height  than 
many  peaks  of  the  Himalayan  mountains  of  India.  When 
it  is  full  moon  no  shadows  are  seen  on  any  part  of  her 
surface,  because  all  the  light  falls  in  our  line  of  sight. 
Speaking  of  these  appearances,  Sir  John  Herschel  says: 
"  The  generality  of  the  lunar  mountains  present  a  striking 
uniformity  and  singularity  of  aspect.  They  are  wonderfully 
numerous,  occupying  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the  surface, 
and  almost  universally  of  an  exactly  circular  or  cup-shaped 
form :  the  larger  have  for  the  most  part  flat  bottoms  within, 
from  which  rises  centrally  a  small  steep  conical  hill.  They 
offer,  in  short,  in  its  highest  perfection,  the  true  volcanic 
character,  as  it  may  be  seen  in  the  crater  of  Vesuvius,  and 
in  a  map  of  the  volcanic  districts  in  the  environs  of  Naples, 
or  of  some  parts  of  Auvergne.  And  in  some  of  the  principal 
ones,  decisive  marks  of  volcanic  layers,  arising  from  succes- 
sive deposits  of  ejected  matter,  may  be  clearly  traced  with 
powerful  telescopes."  Of  the  appearance  of  those  mountains 
we  shall  not  attempt  an  illustration.  It  is  a  question 
still  debated  amongst  the  learned,  whether  these  stony 
bodies  which  have  fallen  on  the  earth  from  the  air,  and 


40  MOUNTAINS   IN  THE   MOON. 

are  called  aerolites,  are  not  projected  from  these  volcanic 
mountains  in  the  moon. 

The  existence  of  volcanoes  being  admitted,  it  is  thought 
possible  that  a  stone  might  be  shot  from  them  with  sufficient 
force  to  carry  it  beyond  the  moon's  attraction.  Indeed,  it 
has  been  reckoned  that  no  greater  velocity  is  needed  for 
this  than  five  and  a  half  times  that  of  a  cannon-ball ;  and 
our  volcanoes  have  thrown  out  rocks  which  must  have 
issued  from  their  craters  with  a  greater  velocity  than  that, 
to  reach  the  distance  at  which  they  fell.  This  opinion, 
however,  is  combatted  by  many  learned  men ;  though  M. 
Arago  says,  "  It  is  the  most  probable  of  all,  and  hitherto  the 
only  one  that  satisfies  all  the  phenomena  observed." 

The  moon  has  no  clouds,  nor  any  other  indications  of  an 
atmosphere.  Hence  its  climate  must  be  very  extraordinary, 
changing  at  once  from  scorching  sunshine,  uninterrupted 
for  a  whole  fortnight,  to  the  keenest  cold  of  a  biting  frost, 
far  exceeding  in  intensity  our  Arctic  winters  for  the  same 
space  of  time.  Sir  John  Herschel  says,  "  that  owing  to  the 
small  density  of  the  materials  of  the  moon,  and  the  com- 
paratively feeble  gravitation  of  bodies  on  her  surface,  mus- 
cular force  would  there  go  six  times  as  far  in  overcoming 
the  weight  of  materials  as  on  the  earth."  That  is,  that  a 
man  would  be  six  times  stronger  if  he  were  in  the  moon 
than  he  is  now  that  he  stands  on  our  globe.  Some  of  our 


MOUNTAINS  IN  THE  MOON.  4i 

old  ychool  lessons  we  have  had  to  unlearn.  One  was,  that 
the  appearance  of  water  could  be  perceived  in  the  moon. 
Astronomers  of  the  first  order  tell  us,  that  the  dusky  spots 
which  are  commonly  called  seas,  when  closely  examined, 
present  appearances  not  to  be  reconciled  with  the  supposition 
of  deep  water.  Nothing  having  the  character  of  seas  can 
be  traced. 

It  must  be  evident,  that  from  the  want  of  air  there  can 
be  no  form  of  life  in  the  moon  like  those  we  have  existing 
around  us.  Telescopes  must  be  improved  before  we  shall 
be  able  to  settle  the  question  if  there  be  inhabitants  there. 
A  statement  has  of  late  gone  the  round  of  the  papers,  that 
Lord  Ross  has  asserted,  if  there  are  any  structures  a  hun- 
dred yards  high,  by  means  of  his  monster  telescope  they 
will  be  visible.  But  newspaper  tales  are  made  to  be  told, 
not  to  be  credited.  Any  such  discovery  will  soon  become 
generally  known  when  once  it  is  made. 

Meanwhile,  from  the  study  of  such  a  subject,  let  our 
minds  catch  something  of  the  sentiment  of  one  of  old, 
who  says,  "  When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of 
thy  fingers,  the  moon  and  stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained ; 
what  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  son 
of  man  that  thou  visitest  him?" 


ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

THE  city  of  Constantinople,  from  the  beauty  of  itg 
situation,  and  the  elegance  of  its  structures,  is  said  to 
present  one  of  the  most  pleasing  pictures  on  which  the 
gaze  of  the  traveller  ever  rests.  At  the  time  of  its  erection, 
the  chief  cities  of  the  old  world  were  ransacked  of  materials 
that  could  add  to  its  grandeur;  every  country  under  the 
government  of  Rome  sent  its  contribution  towards  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  capital.  From  Egypt  were  brought  obelisks, 
from  Ephesus  pillars  of  jasper,  from  Greece  came  marble, 
and  Rome  itself  was  spoiled  of  its  statues  that  they  might 
grace  its  rival.  Successive  emperors  labored  to  finish  that 
which  Constantine  had  so  magnificently  begun  ;  till,  in  its 
surpassing  beauty  and  impregnable  strength,  Constantinople 
became  the  wonder  as  well  as  the  capital  of  the  world. 
Under  the  influence  of  its  present  possessors,  many  of  the 
costly  buildings  of  the  Greeks  have  disappeared,  and  the 
whole  city  has  assumed  an  oriental  costume.  Like  all 
Eastern  cities,  it  is  seen  most  to  advantage  without  the 
42 


ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE.         43 

walls,  its  aspect  then  is  still  imposing  ;  but  when  you  enter 
it,  the  narrow  streets,  the  accumulated  filth,  and  the  mangy- 
looking  dogs,  give  you  anything  but  a  favorable  impression 
of  it.  Indeed,  it  was  from  a  sight  observed  in  this  city,  that 
Lord  Byron  caught  the  idea  of  the  lines  in  the  Siege  of 
Corinth  : — 

"  And  he  saw  the  lean  dogs  beneath  the  wall 
Hold  o'er  the  dead  their  carnival ; 
Gorging  and  growling  o'er  carcass  and  limb. 
They  were  too  busy  to  bark  at  him ! 
From  a  Tartar's  skull  they  had  stripp'd  the  flesh, 
As  we  peel  the  fig  when  its  fruit  is  fresh ; 
And  their  white  tusks  crunch'd  o'er  the  whiter  scull, 
As  it  slipp'd  their  jaws,  when  their  edge  grew  dull, 
As  they  lazily  mumbled  the  bones. of  the  dead, 
They  scarce  could  rise  from  the  spot  where  they  fed." 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  monuments  of  old  Constan- 
tinople consists  of  the  vast  subterranean  edifices  which  we 
shall  here  attempt  to  describe.  They  were  built  by  the 
Greeks  as  cisterns  or  reservoirs,  and  were  always  kept  full 
of  water  in  case  of  a  siege ;  but,  neglected  by  the  improvi- 
dent Turks,  some  have  fallen  into  decay,  and  the  localities 
of  others  have  become  unknown.  There  is  one  called  by 
the  Turks  the  palace  of  tbe  thousand  and  one  pillars,  which 
is  readily  shown  to  travellers.  The  captain  of  a  Levant 


44          ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

trad  ing- vessel,  whom  we  met  a  few  days  ago,  gave  us  the 
following  account  of  his  visit  to  this  particular  reservoir. 
Obtaining  the  assistance  of  a  friend  as  guide,  they  reached 
the  opening  that  leads  down  to  these  vaulted  chambers. 
The  entrance  is  in  about  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  consists 
of  a  narrow  but  substantial  stone  staircase.  After  descend- 
ing about  thirty  feet,  our  friend  was  somewhat  surprised  to 
find,  instead  of  an  immense  body  of  water,  that  it  was  dry, 
and  that  a  number  of  silk-twisters  were  plying  their  trade 
there  in  almost  total  darkness.  The  noise  of  their  work 
and  conversation  sounded  dismally  through  this  subter- 
ranean abode. 

The  roof  is  sustained  by  an  immense  number  of  columns, 
each  one  being  oddly  formed  of  three  separate  pillars  placed 
on  the  top  of  each  other.  Though  partially  filled  up  by 
earth,  it  is  still  more  than  thirty  feet  deep.  The  roof  is 
about  six  feet  from  the  surface  of  the  street,  and  the  cham- 
ber extends  over  more  than  an  acre  of  ground.  The  strange 
dresses  of  the  workmen,  their  unintelligible  talk,  and  the 
gloomy  aspect  of  the  edifice,  made  it  seem  a  most  unearthly 
place.  After  looking  for  a  time  at  the  curious  pillars,  (which, 
though  not  so  abundant  as  the  Turkish  name  implies,  still 
exist  in  great  numbers,)  and  walking  round  its  extent,  they 
were  glad  to  retrace  their  steps,  and  not  sorry  once  more  to 
see  the  clear  sunshine  of  heaven.  There  is  another  which 


ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE.         45 

Btill  exists  as  a  cistern,  though  its  precise  locality  is  known 
to  but  few  individuals,  not  excepting  the  Turks.  A  few 
persons  whose  houses  are  situated  immediately  above  it,  are 
acquainted  with  it,  and  call  it  the  subterranean  palace.  It 
is  in  fact  quite  a  lake,  extending  under  several  streets ; 
and,  like  the  former,  has  an  arched  roof,  supported  by 
pillars,  said  to  be  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  in  number, 
and  made  of  solid  marble.  We  here  give  a  glimpse  of 
this  wonderful  vault.  A  gentleman  thus  describes  a  visit  to 
it.  "  Having  learnt  that  there  was  a  Greek  reservoir  in  the 
city  in  good  preservation,  and  still  partially  full  of  water,  I 
made  many  inquiries  respecting  it,  but  all  in  vain.  At 
length,  meeting  a  friend  whose  long  residence  in  Constanti- 
nople had  afforded  him  the  means  of  knowing  more  than  I 
could  do  about  it,  I  asked  him  if  the  reservoir  was  correct. 
1  Perfectly  so,'  said  he;  'though  I  never  have  seen  iLJ 
Expressing  an  earnest  wish  to  behold  it,  he  told  rtifc,  that 
with  a  large  bribe  he  thought  he  could  obtain  me  permis- 
sion'; for  he  was  acquainted  with  an  old  Turk,  whose  house 
was  said  to  cover  one  of  the  openings  into  it.  I  readily 
agreed  to  give  the  required  douceur,  and  he  arranged  to  call 
next  morning,  if  successful.  The  following  morning  my 
friend  came  with  the  news  of  his  success.  After  passing 
through  several  streets,  we  reached  the  upper  part  of  the 
city,  and  entered  an  old-looking  house.  We  were  received 


46        ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE. 

by  an  aged  Turk  with  a  venerable  beard,  whose  dress 
betokened  neither  very  great  wealth,  nor  very  great  clean- 
liness. After  being  invited  to  take  coffee  and  a  pipe, 
which  we  accepted,  my  friend  serving  as  interpreter  to 
the  few  words  of  conversation  that  passed  between  us,  our 
host  informed  us,  he  was  ready  to  show  us  the  way  to  the 
subterranean  palace. 

"  We  proceeded  to  the  inner  court  of  the  house,  arid  turn- 
ing sharp  to  the  right,  were  ushered  into  a  small  room,  the 
floor  of  which  was  a  few  steps  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Here  the  guide  provided  two  torches,  and,  putting  one  into 
my  hands,  and  carrying  the  other  himself,  proceeded  to  raise 
a  sort  of  trap-door,  and  bidding  us  follow  him  began  to  de- 
scend. My  friend  immediately  stepped  down  after  him,  and 
I  brought  up  the  rear.  After  descending  thirty  steps  or 
more  of  a  strong  stone  staircase,  we  felt  sure  from  the  cold 
dampness  of  the  air  that  we  were  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  water.  Our  surmises  were  soon  verified,  by  the  Turk 
(who  was  a  step  or  two  lower  than  either  of  us)  calling  to  my 
friend  to  take  his  torch  while  he  unmoored  a  light  boat  that 
was  fastened  to  the  winding  staircase.  A  step  or  two  lower, 
and  amid  innumerable  columns,  rising  on  every  hand,  we  dis- 
cerned the  water  gleaming  under  the  light  of  our  torches. 

"  We  were  soon  seated  in  the  boat,  and  the  Turk,  equip- 
ping himself  with  a  small  pair  of  sculls,  shoved  us  off;    The 


ARCHES  UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLR         47 

splash  of  the  chain  that  had  moored  the  boat,  as  it  fell  heavily 
into  the  water,  echoed  throughout  the  vaulted  cavern.  I 
never  shall  forget  the  feeling  of  bewilderment  that  for  the 
first  few  minutes  crept  over  me.  Rows  of  marble  columns 
seemed  to  rise  endlessly,  while  their  polished  surfaces  glist- 
ened in  the  torch-light.  The  Eastern  dress  of  our  guide, 
his  flowing  beard,  the  dismal  silence  of  this  strange  place, 
unbroken,  save  by  the  paddling  of  the  boat,  and  the  gleam- 
ing of  our  unearthly  lights,  made  me  think  of  the  poet's 
description  of  the  Stygian  ferryman.  After  a  time  I  began 
to  look  round  more  attentively.  The  columns  are  of 
marble ;  many  of  them  with  Corinthian  capitals,  though  we 
saw  some  of  the  composite,  and  others  of  the  Doric  order. 
Some  retained  all  the  sharpness  of  their  exquisite  finish, 
while  others  seemed  to  be  undergoing  delapidation  from  the 
hand  of  time. 

"  They  appeared  to  me  to  be  the  spoils  of  more  than  one 
temple,  appropriated  by  imperial  builders  to  this  use.  We 
looked  for  an  inscription,  but  could  no  where  find  one.  The 
roof  seemed  in  excellent  condition,  and  appeared  to  be  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  Unlike  most 
other  guides,  ours  was  by  no  means  communicative,  and  only 
by  dint  of  questioning  him  could  we  learn  any  thing  from 
him.  He  said,  '  the  water  was  unfathomable,  and  it  was  as 
iit  always  had  been.'  I  am  of  opinion  there  was  from  twelve 


48 


ARCHES   UNDER  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


to  fifteen  feet  depth  of  water  in  the  cistern.  It  extends  un- 
der several  streets,  and  from  the  darkness  and  gloom  which 
envelope  it,  its  area  seems  of  great  extent.  It  may  well  be 
called  a  lake.  After  paddling  to  one  extremity,  which  we 
found  to  consist  of  a  wall  faced  with  blocks  of  marble,  and 
reaching  nearly  across  it  in  the  opposite  direction,  our  guide. 
in  spite  of  all  our  entreaty,  determined  to  ascend.  We 
could  learn  nothing  of  the  mode  by  which  the  water  finds 
entrance  ;  most  likely  by  some  underground  course,  arid 
obtains  egress  in  a  similar  manner.  We  at  length  readied 
the  staircase,  and,  much  against  our  will,  were  compelled  to 
leave  this  wonderful  cistern,  which  we  would  gladly  still 
further  have  explored." 


ROOTS  OF  THE  BANIAN-TREE. 


OUR  engraving  represents  the  clustering  roots  of  an 
[ndian  fig-tree,  known  to  botanists  as  the  ficus  Indica, 
and  to  people  generally  as  the  banian-tree.  It  is  a  native 
of  most  parts  of  India,  both  on  the  islands  and  the  main 
land,  and  is  said  to  reach  the  greatest  perfection  on  the 
skirts  of  the  Circar  mountains.  The  figs  when  ripe  grow 
in  pairs,  at  the  junction  of  the  leaf  with  the  branch,  and 
are  about  the  size  and  color  of  a  middle-size  red  cherry. 
Every  branch  from  the  main  body  throws  out  its  own  roots, 
at  first  in  small  tender  fibres,  several  yards  from  the  ground ; 
but  these  continually  grow  thicker,  until  they  reach  the 
ground,  and  then,  striking  into  the  earth,  become  in  their 
turn  parent  trunks,  sending  out  similar  branches,  yet  still 
keeping  their  original  stock  preserved.  The  wood  is  light 
and  porous,  white  in  color,  and  of  little  value ;  but  the 
leaves  are  used  as  plates  to  eat  off,  and  a  kind  of  bird- 
lime is  manufactured  from  their  thick,  milky  juice.  They 
cover  large  spaces  of  ground :  one  is  mentioned  as  covering 

51 


52  ROOTS   OF  THE   BANIAN-TREE. 

an  area  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  square  yards.  In 
the  writings  of  Pliny  and  Strabo  mention  is  made  of  the 
banian ;  the  former,  indeed,  gives  a  minute  detail  of  its 
appearance  and  growth,  affording  under  its  wide-spreading 
branches  shelter  to  a  whole  regiment  of  cavalry. 

The  appearance  of  this  tree  in  the  forests  of  Ceylon  or 
the  uplands  of  India  must  be  very  striking.  The  Hindoos 
regard  it  as  sacred ;  and,  from  its  long  duration,  its  out- 
stretching arms,  and  overshadowing  beneficence,  are  accus- 
tomed to  regard  it  as  an  emblem  of  Deity.  Near  these  trees 
their  most  esteemed  temples  are  built  ;  arid  under  the  shade 
of  its  broad  leaves  their  Brahmins  or  priests  find  a  cool 
abode.  The  natives  of  all  castes  and  tribes  are  fond  of 
enjoying  the  grateful  retreat  and  pleasant  walks  which  it» 
affords  :  not  even  an  Eastern  sun  penetrates  its  leafy  canopy. 
Milton  has  finely  described  it  in  the  ninth  book  of  his  Para- 
dise Lost : — 

:'  There  soon  they  chose 

The  fig-tree ;  not  that  kind  for  fruit  renowii'd, 
But  such  as  at  this  day  to  Indians  known 
In  Malabar  or  Deccan,  spreads  her  arras, 
Branching  so  broad  and  long,  that  in  the  ground 
The  bended  trees  take  root,  and  daughters  grow 
About  the  mother  tree,  a  pillar'd  shade 
High  overarch'd,  and  echoing  walks  between ; 


FOOTS  OF  THE  BANIAN-TREE.  53 

There  oft  the  Indian  herdsmen,  shunning  heat, 
Shelters  in  cool,  and  tends  his  pasturing  herds 
At  loop-holes  cut  through  thickest  shade." 

When  the  seeds  of  the  banian-tree  drop  in  the  axils*  of 
the  palmyra-tree,  the  roots  grow  downwards,  embracing  the 
trunk  in  their  descent;  and  gradually  they  envelop  every 
part  except  the  top.  In  very  ancient  trees  the  leaves  and 
top  of  the  palmyra  are  seen  standing  out  of  the  banian 
trunks  as  if  they  grew  from  them.  The  Hindoos  look  upon 
such  instances  with  great  reverence,  and  speak  of  them  as 
holy  marriages  appointed  by  Providence.  The  rarity  of 
these  instances  adds  to  the  veneration  with  which  they  are 
regarded. 

In  Ceylon,  one  of  this  kind  of  trees  is  described  as 
being  more  than  four  hundred  feet  in  diameter;  and  under 
its  foliage  the  whole  village  was  accustomed  to  assemble, 
and  great  public  meetings  were  sometimes  held.  In  its 
native  forests  the  banian  becomes  the  abode  of  numberless 
monkeys,  who,  as  they  spring  from  branch  to  branch, 
plucking  its  fruit,  grin  and  chatter  with  unceasing  delight. 
Hanging,  too,  from  some  stretching  branch,  and  easily  mis- 
taken for  the  tendril  of  a  root  finding  its  way  to  the  soil, 

*  Axil — The  angle  formed  by  the  insertion  of  a  leaf  or  branch  into  a 
branch  or  trunk. 


54  ROOTS  OF  THE  BANIAN  TREE. 

may  sometimes  be  seen  the  cunning  snake,  lying  in  wait 
for  its  unwary  prey.  Its  roots  when  laid  bare  by  the  slip 
of  some  bank  on  which  it  has  grown,  are  found  to  grow 
clusteringly  together,  in  a  way  that  much  exhausts  the  soil. 
Thus,  though  the  widest  spreading  of  ail  the  trees  of  the 
forest,  it  never  lives  to  be  the  oldest.  Were  it,  not  from  this 
exhaustion  of  the  soil,  there  would  seem  to  be  neither  check 
to  its  progress,  nor  end  to  its  duration.  An  Indian  traveller 
says,  that  he  has  seen  them  five  hundred  yards  round  the 
circumference  of  the  branches,  and  a  hundred  feet  high, 
the  principal  trunk  being  more  than  twenty-five  feet  to  the 
branches,  and  eight  or  nine  feet  in  diameter.  The  following 
lines  from  the  Curse  of  Kehama  must  close  our  account  of 
this  wonderful  tree : — 

"  'Twas  a  fair  scene  wherein  they  stood, 

A  green  and  sunny  glade  amid  the  wood, 

And  in  the  midst  an  aged  banian  grew. 
It  was  a  goodly  sight  to  see 
That  venerable  tree. 

For  o'er  the  lawn  irregularly  spread, 

Fifty  straight  columns  propt  its  lofty  head. 

And  many  a  long  depending  shoot, 

Seeking  to  strike  its  root, 

Straight  like  a  plummet,  grew  towards  the  ground, 
Some  on  the  lower  boughs,  which  cross  their  way 
Fixing  their  bearded  fibres  round  and  round, 
With  many  a  ring  and  wild  contortion  wound  ; 


ROOTS  OF  THE  BANIAN  TREE. 

Some  to  the  passing  wind,  at  times,  with  sway 

Of  gentle  motion  swung; 

Others,  of  younger  growth^  unmov'd  were  hung 
Like  stone-drops  from  the  cavern's  fretted  height. 
Beneath  was  smooth  and  fair  to  sight, 
Nor  weeds  nor  briers  deform'd  the  natural  floor ; 

And  through  the  leafy  cope  which  bowered  it  o'er 

Came  gleams  of  chequer'd  light. 
So  like  a  temple  did  it  seem,  that  there 
A  pious  heart's  first  impulse  would  be  prayer." 


55 


THE  DIAMOND. 

IT  is  somewhat  difficult  to  give  a  perfectly  satisfactory 
reason  why  mankind  should  attach  so  high  a  value  to  the 
diamond.  We  may  mention  its  brilliancy  when  polished, 
its  hardness,  and  its  rarity ;  but  the  possession  of  these 
properties  to  any  conceivable  extent,  seems  hardly  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  the  enormous  sums  which  have  been 
given  for  a  stone,  of  which  the  largest  known  specimen  in 
existence  weighs  only  eleven  ounces.  For  instance,  the 
Pitt  diamond  was  purchased  by  the  Regent  Duke  of  Orleans 
for  £135,000  ;  the  Pigott  diamond  was  valued  at  £40,000 ; 
that  of  the  Queen  of  Portugal,  weighing  eleven  ounces, 
has  been  valued  at  £425,000  ;  and  the  gem  in  the  sceptre 
of  the  Russian  empire,  about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg. 
was  bought  for  nearly  £150,000. 

It  is  true,  that  the  value  of  gold  and  silver  (and  indeed 
of  every  thing  else)  is  equally  dependent  on  their  compar- 
ative rarity ;  but  those  metals,  being  in  constant  use  a? 
universal  and  most  convenient  media  of  exchange,  and 

standards  of  comparative  value  for  all  other  articles,  the 
56 


THE  DIAMOND.  59 

estimation  in  which  they  are  held  seems  less  capricious 
and  artificial. 

And  after  all,  what  is  a  diamond  ?  Nothing  but  a  piece 
of  crystallized  carbon.  And  if — as  seems  not  at  all  im- 
possible— some  fortunate  chemist  should  succeed  in  thus 
imitating  the  process  of  nature,  by  subjecting  charcoal  or 
carbon  to  some  process  which  shall  cause  crystallization, 
we  may  have  diamonds  worth  but  little  more  than  bits  of 
very  fine  glass.  Till  then,  however,  this  gem  will  proba- 
bly retain  its  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  royal,  the 
noble,  and  the  wealthy — will  still  flash  around  the  diademed 
brows  of  sovereigns,  and  descend,  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration, with  the  other  ancestral  honors  of  the  peerage — 
the  deer-stocked  park,  the  princely  mansion,  with  its  sur- 
rounding woods,  and  the  rent-roll  of  a  province. 

Diamonds  have  been  principally  found  in  India  and  the 
Brazils.  The  mine  of  Golconda  in  India,  so  proverbially 
celebrated,  is  now  nearly  exhausted,  and  it  is  by  the 
Brazils  that  the  principal  supply  of  this  precious  stone  is 
at  present  furnished.  The  most  celebrated  diamond- 
mines  in  this  last-named  country  are  those  of  Serrado 
Frio,  which  district  is  also  known  as  the  Arrayal  Diaman- 
tino,  or  Diamond  District.  It  is  surrounded  by  rocks  al- 
most inaccessible,  and  was  formerly  so  strictly  guarded, 


60  THE  DIAMOND. 

that  even  the  governor  of  the  province  was  not  allowed 
to  enter  without  the  special  permission  of  the  director  of 
the  mines. 

The  diamonds  are  found  imbedded  along  with  flints,  in  a 
ferruginous  earth,  called  cascalhao,  which  is  dug,  and  taken 
to  be  searched  for  the  precious  stones,  by  filtering  through 
a  running  stream.  The  earth  is  dug  during  the  dry 
season,  when  the  beds  of  rivers  and  torrents  are  dry,  and 
the  diamond-sand  can  more  easily  be  obtained.  When 
the  rainy  season  commences,  the  negroes  are  employed  in 
washing  the  cascalhao.  This  is  generally  performed  (as 
shown  in  the  cut)  under  sheds,  for  the  protection  of  the 
workmen  from  the  weather.  Along  the  sheds  are  placed 
raised  seats  for  the  overseers,  each  of  whom  watches  eight 
negroes,  as  they  search  for  diamonds  among  the  sand  and 
flint  of  the  cascalhao,  as  it  is  washed  by  the  stream  that 
runs  through  the  shed.  Each  negro  works  in  a  separate 
box,  and  is  entirely  naked,  except  during  extreme  cold, 
when  he  is  allowed  a  waistcoat,  without  either  lining  or 
pocket,  lest  he  should  secrete  a  diamond  when  found. 
He  is  furnished  with  a  kind  of  handspike,  to  separate  the 
sand  and  flint,  and  when  he  discovers  a  diamond,  he  stands 
upright,  and  claps  his  hands  as  a  signal  to  the  overseer, 
and  then  looks  anxiously  on  while  it  is  weighed  and  ex- 


THE  DIAMOND.  61 

amined.  For  if  the  poor  fellow  has  been  fortunate  enough 
to  find  a  diamond  weighing  seventeen  carats,  he  is  freed 
from  slavery,  amid  much  ceremony  and  rejoicing.  He  is 
crowned  with  a  wreath  of  flowers,  and  carried  in  proces- 
sion to  the  administrator,  who  pays  his  owner  for  him,  and 
sets  him  at  liberty.  The  discovery  of  a  stone  of  less 
weight  is  also  rewarded  by  gifts  and  premiums,  according 
to  the  value  of  the  gem,  down  even  to  a  pinch  of  to- 
bacco. 

The  diamond,  when  thus  discovered,  is  deposited  by  the 
overseer  in  a  large  wooden  bowl  of  water,  hung  in  the 
middle  of  the  shed  ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  day  the  whole 
are  collected,  weighed,  and  registered,  before  delivering 
them  to  the  proprietor. 

Notwithstanding  every  imaginable  precaution  to  prevent 
thefts,  the  negroes  find  means  to  purloin  and  secrete  dia- 
monds, and  afterwards  sell  them  at  a  low  price  to  the 
smugglers  ;  and  these,  in  their  turn,  are  often  deceived  by 
the  negroes,  who,  by  some  simple  process,  can  give  crys- 
tals, of  but  little  value,  the  appearance  of  rough  diamonds, 
so  as  completely  to  imitate  them. 

It  is  supposed  that  about  20,000  negroes  are  now  em- 
ployed in  the  diamond-mines  of  Brazil.  But,  after  all,  the 
diamond  is  a  product  of  far  less  value  to  this  country 


62  THE  DIAMOND. 

than  might  be  supposed.  It  has  been  estimated,  from  a 
careful  calculation,  that  the  total  value  of  the  diamonds 
discovered  during  eighty  years,  from  1740  to  1820,  was 
about  £3,475,537.  This  amount,  in  only  eighteen  months, 
is  exported  from  the  Brazils  in  sugar  and  coffee  only. 
One-fifth  of  the  total  value  of  the  diamonds  found  belongs 
to  the  crown.  From  the  mines,  the  diamonds  are  conveyed 
to  the  capital  on  mules,  and  escorted  by  a  strong  guard  of 
soldiers. 

The  hardness  of  the  diamond  is  proverbial,  and  to  this 
quality  it  owes  its  chief,  if  not  its  sole  utility.  By  no 
other  substance  than  a  diamond  can  one  of  these  gems  be 
scratched  or  ground.  To  do  this  is  the  business  of  the 
lapidary,  and  great  patience,  skill,  and  taste,  are  required 
in  grinding  down  the  natural  rough  and  irregular  surface 
of  the  stone,  into  such  a  regular,  geometrical  shape,  as 
shall  least  diminish  the  weight  and  size  of  the  gem,  and 
at  the  same  time  shall  best  display  its  lustre  when 
polished,  and  reflect  the  varied  light  from  its  brilliant 
facets. 

In  some  directions,  of  which  none  but  a  skilful  and  ex- 
perienced lapidary  can  judge,  the  diamond  may  be  split  in 
layers,  or  laminae,  and  by  the  judicious  use  of  this  means, 
the  tedious  process  of  grinding  is  partly  avoided. 


THE  DIAMOND. 


63 


Great  expense  is  sometimes  incurred  in  thus  preparing 
these  gems  for  the  goldsmith,  whose  business  it  is  to  fix 
them,  or  "  set"  them,  as  it  is  termed,  in  appropriate  mount- 
ings— such  as  rings  for  the  finger ;  the  locket  for  the 
wrist ;  the  crown  and  sceptre  of  royalty  ;  or  the  sword- 
hilt  of  the  fortunate  soldier. 

The  diamond  once  in  the  possession  of  Napoleon,  and 
which  was  purchased  for  £30,000,  cost  £3,000  additional 
for  grinding  and  polishing. 


THE  LAPLANDERS. 


THE  country  of  Lapland,  situated  on  the  north  and 
north-eastern  part  of  the  Scandinavian  peninsula,  is  cold 
and  mountainous :  three-fourths  of  the  year  the  country  is 
covered  with  snow ;  and  the  frost  between  November  and 
March  is  very  intense.  The  snow  lies  on  the  ground  till 
the  middle  of  June  ;  but  when  the  summer  comes  the  heat 
is  very  oppressive,  and  frequently  insupportable  on  account 
of  the  great  length  of  the  days,  which  in  the  most  southern 
districts  last  nineteen  or  twenty  hours;  in  the  northern, 
several  weeks.  Indeed,  in  the  most  northern  extremity  of 
this  country  there  is  daylight  unintermittingly  for  three 
months.  Numerous  lakes  are  scattered  throughout  the 
country,  and  in  some  districts  large  forests  of  pines  and 
birch  abound.  Wild  animals  are  numerous,  probably  from 
the  reason  that  there  are  immense  tracts  uninhabited :  wild 
reindeer,  wolves,  lynxes,  foxes,  hares,  martens,  and  otters, 
are  to  be  met  with.  Among  birds,  the  eagle,  woodcock,  and 
a  variety  of  sea-fowl  have  here  their  home.  The  population 


THE  LAPLANDERS.  65 

is  not  numerous,  probably  not  exceeding  seven  thousand, 
and  they  are  divided  into  the  Reindeer  Laplanders  and 
the  Fishing  Laplanders.  To  the  former  our  plate  more 
especially  refers.  Some  of  these  possess  as  many  as  five 
hundred  or  even  a  thousand  reindeer,  in  which  all  their 
wealth  consists. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  the  condition  of  the 
Laplander,  taken  from  "  La  ing's  Journal  of  a  Residence  in 
Nonvay :" — 

"  The  condition  of  the  wandering  Laplander  forms  a 
singular  union  of  real  wealth  with  real  poverty.  To  support 
a  family  in  the  Fjelde,  a  flock  of  from  three  to  four  hundred 
reindeer  is  necessary.  He  who  possesses  from  one  to  three 
hundred  must  depend  for  subsistence  partly  on  fishing  in 
the  lakes  and  shooting,  and  must  betake  himself  to  the 
coast,  or  to  husbandry  in  a  fixed  situation.  The  value  of 
a  reindeer  is  about  one-third  of  that  of  a  cow.  It  sells 
for  three  or  four  dollars,  and  a  cow  for  from  nine  to  twelve ; 
and  the  meat,  skin,  and  horns  of  the  one  sell  as  readily  as 
those  of  the  other.  A  flock  of  four  hundred  reindeer,  the 
minimum  which  can  support  a  family,  supposing  one-fourth 
of  the  number  to  be  full  grown,  and  the  other  three  hundred 
to  be  wo  Ji  only  one-third  of  their  value,  must  altogether 
be  equal  •>  a  capital  of  six  hundred  dollars,  or  about  £120 
sterling  YeC  the  yearly  produce  of  this  capital,  which  is 

5 


66  THE  LAPLANDERS. 

greater  than  the  value  of  all  the  property  possessed  by  three 
or  four  families  of  the  working  class  in  a  civilized  com- 
munity, and  with  which  they  would  be  far  removed  from 
want,  is  insufficient  to  support  a  Laplander,  even  in  the 
state  of  extreme  privation  in  which  he  generally  lives.  This 
is  a  striking  instance  of  the  real  expense  of  living  in  that 
natural  state,  as  it  has  been  called,  or  rather  that  barbarous 
one,  in  which  a  man  consumes  what  he  produces,  and  lives 
independent  of  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  its  tastes,  and  enjoy- 
ments. The  Laplander  uses  nothing  which  he  does  not 
make  for  himself,  except  the  iron  pot  for  dressing  his 
victuals,  and  the  piece  of  coarse  cloth  which  forms  his  tent. 
He  consumes  nothing  but  what  his  reindeer  yield  him ;  his 
occasional  excess  in  brandy  and  tobacco  are  not  ordinary 
indulgences.  Yet  without  the  tastes,  habits,  and  gratifica- 
tions of  civilized  life,  or  any  of  its  expenses,  the  Laplander 
with  the  above  capital  is  in  poverty,  and  destitute  of  an 
assured  subsistence.  This  shows  the  real  expense  of -that 
half-savage  life  which,  from  the  accounts  of  emigrants  and 
travellers  in  America,  we  are  apt  to  suppose  is  the  least 
costly  of  any,  because  it  has  neither  comforts  or  luxuries  to 
pay  for,  and  produces  what  it  consumes.  The  Laplander's 
condition  is  the  beau  ideal  of  that  sort  of  life.  Five  shillings 
would  undoubtedly  purchase  all  that  he  uses  in  a  year  of 
those  articles  which  are  not  indispensably  'necessary  for 


THE  LAPLANDERS.  67 

existence  ;  yet  a  capital,  which  with  their  own  labor  would 
maintain  three  families  in  the  enjoyments  and  decencies  of 
civilized  life,  according  to  their  station,  does  not  keep  him 
from  positive  want.  The  Laplander  who  possesses  a  thou- 
sand or  more  reindeer,  and  who  is  consequently  a  man 
of  considerable  property,  lives  in  the  same  way  as  the 
poorest,  enjoys  no  more  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  and  has  no 
higher  tastes  and  habits  to  gratify.  It  is  said  that  very 
considerable  portions  of  the  silver-currency  of  the  country 
are  lost,  in  consequence  of  this  class  of  Laplanders  hoarding 
from  generation  to  generation  all  the  money  they  obtain  by 
the  sale  of  their  surplus  produce,  and  that  the  spot  in  the 
Fjelde  where  the  treasure  is  buried  often  cannot  be  dis- 
covered by  the  heirs." 

Without  the  reindeer  the  Laplander  would  be  unable  to 
live. 

"  Their  reindeer  form  their  riches  ;  these  their  tents, 
Their  robes,  their  beds,  and  all  their  homely  wealth 
Supply  ;  their  wholesome  fare,  and  cheerful  cups. 
Obsequious  to  their  call,  the  docile  tribe 
Yield  to  the  sled  their  necks,  and  whirl  them  swift 
O'er  hill  and  dale." 

A  gentleman    acquainted    with   Lapland   estimates  the 
number  of  these  animals  which  a  Laplander  requires  to  live 


68  THE  LAPLANDERS. 

in  tolerable  comfort  to  be  about  five  hundred.  He  can  then 
in  summer  make  a  sufficient  quantity  of  cheese  to  last  dur- 
ing the  year,  and  can  kill  in  the  winter-time  venison  enough 
to  supply  him  and  his  family.  If  a  man  has  but  a  small 
family,  he  can  manage  to  get  on  with  two  hundred  deer. 
If  he  has  but  one  hundred,  his  subsistence  is  very  precarious, 
and  he  cannot  rely  on  them  alone  for  support.  If  his  deer 
amount  to  but  fifty,  he  is  no  longer  able  to  keep  a  separate 
establishment,  but  generally  joins  his  small  herd  to  that  of 
some  richer  Laplander,  and  is  considered  in  the  light  of  a 
servant, — attending  upon  and  watching  the  herd,  bringing 
them  home  to  be  milked,  and  performing  other  similar  duties 
in  return  for  tbe  living  that  he  gets. 

With  tbe  reindeer  harnessed  to  a  sledge  in  the  manner 
described  in  tbe  picture,  the  Laplander  traverses  in  the  win- 
ter-time hill  and  dale,  lake  and  plain.  This  animal  posses- 
ses astonishing  power  of  endurance,  combined  with  great 
speed,  so  that  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  is  often  journeyed 
in  less  than  twenty  hours.  There  is  a  portrait  of  a  reindeer 
in  the  palace  of  Drotningholm,  in  Sweden,  which  is  said  to 
have  travelled  the  amazing  distance  of  eight  hundred  Eng- 
lish miles  in  forty-eight  hours.  This  is  said  to  have  been 
done  in  the  year  1609,  and  the  deer  is  reported  to  have  drop- 
ped down  dead  on  its  arrival. 

During  the  winter-time  the  Laplanders  are  often  engaged 


THE  LAPLANDERS.  69 

in  hunting  the  wolf,  and  are  said  to  use  for  the  purpose  of 
their  capture  a  peculiar  kind  of  trap,  which  is  thus  de- 
scribed : — In  a  circle  of  about  six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter, 
strong  stakes  of  such  a  length  that  the  wolf  cannot  leap  over 
them  are  driven  into  the  ground  tolerably  close  to  each  other. 
In  the  midst  of  this  circle,  a  single  stake  is  driven,  to  which 
is  tied  a  lamb:  a  second  circle  is  then  formed  of  similar 
stakes  at  a  distance  that  will  allow  of  a  wolf  to  pass  conve- 
niently, but  not  permit  his  turning  round.  In  this  outer  cir- 
cle a  door  is  formed  opening  inwards,  and  reaching  to  the 
inner  circle,  but  so  contrived  that  it  fastens  itself  on  shutting. 
Through  this  door  numbers  of  wolves  sometimes  enter  at 
once.  The  first  one  journeys  round  in  order  to  find  some 
opening  through  which  he  can  get  at  the  lamb.  When  he 
comes  round  to  the  door,  which  is  now  in  his  way,  he  pushes 
it  to  with  his  muzzle,  it  closes  and  fastens,  he  passes  by  and 
goes  round  again  neither  able  to  get  into  the  inner  circle  nor 
able  to  get  from  the  outer  one.  At  length  he  discovers  that 
he  is  a  prisoner,  and  his  terrible  howling  soon  make  it  known 
to  the  Laplanders  who  are  on  the  watch.  Several  wolves 
are  by  this  means  frequently  caught  at  once. 

Occasionally  a  severe  winter  starves  the  reindeer,  and  the 
Laplanders  perish  by  famine.  If  the  cold  sets  in  with  great 
rains,  which  the  frost  immediately  congeals,  the  coating  of 
ice  incrusts  the  earth  before  the  snow  falls,  and  the  lichen 


70  THE  LAPLANDERS. 

on  which  the  reindeer  feed  is  entirely  buried,  so  that  they 
cannot  get  at  it.  In  such  seasons  of  difficulty  the  only  re- 
source left  is,  that  of  felling  old  fir-trees,  overgrown  with  the 
hairy  liverwort.  These,  however,  afford  but  a  very  small 
and  inadequate  supply  for  a  large  herd  of  deer,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  is  sure  to  perish  with  hunger. 

The  dress  of  the  Laplander  is  chiefly  composed  of  the 
skin  of  the  reindeer,  the  fur  being  worn  inside.  Their 
hands  and  feet  are  preserved  from  the  effects  of  the  frost  in 
the  following  curious  manner: — The  shoes  which  they  wear 
are  of  deerskin,  with  the  fur  outwards,  and  lined  with  a  kind 
of  grass  known  to  botanists  by  the  name  Carex  Acuta 
which  is  cut  down  in  the  summer,  dried,  rubbed  betwixt 
their  hands,  and  afterwards  combed  and  carded.  They  also 
wrap  it  round  the  lower  part  of  their  legs,  and  put  it  into 
their  gloves  to  preserve  their  hands.  Thus  defended  they 
never  suffer  from  the  severest  cold ;  and  chilblains  amongst 
them  are  unknown.  As  this  grass  in  the  winter  drives 
away  the  cold,  so  in  the  summer  it  checks  the  perspiration 
of  the  feet,  and  preserves  them  from  being  injured  by  the 
stones,  against  which  their  untanned  shoes  are  but  a  poor 
defence. 

In  this  country  the  Aurora  Borealis  is  seen  in  all  its  glory, 
and  in  the  winter  season  in  a  thousand  fantastic  forms 
nightly  illuminates  their  hemisphere.  The  stature  of  the 


THE   LAPLANDERS.  71 

people  is  short,  varying  in  general  between  four  and  five 
feet.  Their  complexion  is  a  dirty  yellow,  which  is  partly 
owing  to  the  smoky  huts  in  which  they  pass  the  winter. 
Their  face  is  generally  broad,  their  nose  short,  and  the  hair 
is  rather  black.  They  are  not  strong,  but  very  active,  and 
of  a  cheerful  disposition. 

Every  country  has  its  own  peculiar  illustrations  of  the 
Divine  power ;  but  the  severity  of  an  Arctic  frost,  and  the 
pitiless  storms  of  driving  sleet  that  sweep  over  these  north- 
ern lands  seem  to  challenge  more  especially  our  submission 
to  the  power  of  Deity,  and  make  us  feel  our  nothingness 
when  compared  with  God,  while  by  them  the  Divine  Being 
seems  to  ask  : 

"  Hast  thou  e'er  scaled  my  wintry  skies  and  seen 
Of  hail  and  snow  my  northern  magazine? 
These  the  dread  treasures  of  mine  anger  are, 
My  fund  of  vengeance  for  the  day  of  war." 


SHIP-BUILDING. 

C  AM  going  to  tell  you  of  a  few  things  that  are  very  won- 
doTul,  though  they  are  often  passed  by  without  a  thought 
by  careless  people.  The  world  is  full  of  wonderful 
things;  the  dirty  brown  pebbles  that  lie  in  the  dusty 
road,  the  straggling  brambles  in  the  hedge,  or  the  little 
blades  of  grass  that  you  trample  on,  are  all  wonderful. 
Only  an  Almighty  God  could  make  one  of  them.  If  you 
were  to  take  up  either  of  these  things  that  I  have  men- 
tioned, or  any  thing  else  of  the  same  kind,  and  look  at  it 
very  o.arefully  through  a  microscope,  you  would  be  aston- 
ished to  find  how  beautiful  it  is.  But  even  many  things 
72 


73 


SHIP-BUILDING.  75 

made  by  man  are  wonderful ;  and  I  purpose  to  speak  of  a 
few  of  these  first,  and  then  to  go  to  the  perfect  works  ot 
God.  But,  as  I  have  already  said,  I  can  only  speak  of  a 
few ;  for  if  I  were  to  mention  half  of  the  wonders  that 
even  I  am  acquainted  with,  they  would  fill  many  books 
much  larger  than  this. 

Have  you  ever  seen  a  ship  ?  Perhaps  you  have  lived 
in  a  sea-port  town,  and  have  been  on  board  vessels  many 
times ;  but  it  may  be  that  you  never  thought  of  them, 
except  as  useful  things  to  carry  people  over  the  water. 
But  a  ship  is  a  very  surprising  work ;  it  has  taken  many 
hundreds  of  years  to  learn  how  to  make  them  such  as  you 
now  see  them.  It  is  true  Noah  built  the  ark,  which  was 
something  like  a  ship  without  masts  or  sails,  about  four 
thousand  years  ago;  but  it  seems  likely  that  he  was 
taught  by  God  himself  how  to  proceed,  and  for  a  very 
long  time  afterwards  the  vessels  that  were  built  were  very 
awkward,  clumsy  things.  You  may  sometimes  see  pic- 
tures of  the  ships  that  were  built  in  our  own  country  only 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago;  great  heavy 


76  SHIP-BUILDING. 

things,  like  castles,  with  their  sterns  high  up  in  the  air, 
and  all  hung  round  with  gaudy  ornaments.  But  since 
then  great  improvements  have  been  made,  and  the  ships 
that  are  now  built  are  much  swifter,  stronger,  and  safer 
than  those  were. 

A  ship  on  the  stocks  is  a  very  interesting  sight.  On 
first  entering  the  dockyard  all  seems  confusion  ;  the  busy 
workmen  swarming  about  like  bees  in  a  hive,  and  the 
noise  of  a  hundred  axes  and  hammers  all  striking  at  once, 
quite  bewilder  one :  and  even  after  we  get  a  little  used  to 
the  bustle,  it  requires  some  knowledge  of  the  way  in 
which  a  ship  is  built,  to  perceive  what  the  different  work- 
men are  about. 

In  rude  and  barbarous  countries,  vessels  are  usually 
made  with  immense  labor  and  pains,  by  hollowing  out 
the  trunk  of  a  large  tree  ;  but  as  no  trees  could  be  found 
large  enough  to  make,  in  a  single  piece,  even  one  of  our 
smallest  vessels,  they  have  to  be  built ;  or  composed  of  a 
great  number  of  pieces  carefully  cut  and  fitted  together. 
How  this  is  done,  I  will  try  to  describe  to  you. 


SHIP-BUILDING  77 

In  a  building-yard,  or  dock,  the  ground  is  smoothed,  so 
as  to  slope  evenly  down  to  the  water ;  and  along  this  are 
placed  a  row  of  thick  oak  blocks,  three  feet  high,  and 
about  four  feet  apart.  On  these  the  whole  ship  rests  as  it 
is  built,  and  down  these  it  slides,  when  finished,  into  the 
water.  A  stout  and  straight  piece  of  timber,  hewn  square, 
is  first  laid  along  these  blocks  ;  this  is  called  the  keel,  and 
runs  through  the  whole  length  of  the  ship.  As  soon  as  it 
is  laid  down,  the  timbers  are  set  up,  but  these  have  first  to 
be  prepared  in  a  very  curious  manner.  They  give  the 
form  to  the  sides,  and  much  resemble  the  ribs  of  an 
animal's  body.  Now  it  is  needful  that  each  one  should 
have  its  own  proper  shape,  or  the  ship  would  have  a  very 
deformed  appearance,  and  could  never  be  made  to  keep 
out  the  water.  A  house,  or  shed,  is  prepared  as  long  and 
as  high  as  the  body  or  hull  of  the  ship ;  and  on  the  wall 
the  shape  of  every  single  timber  is  chalked  out  in  its 
proper  place,  very  exactly.  Boards  are  then  cut  into 
these  shapes,  and  are  taken  into  the  woods  in  some  coun- 
tries, or  into  the  timber-yards  in  England,  in  order  that 


78  SHIP-BUILDING. 

suitable  pieces  of  wood  may  be  chosen ;  that  is,  such  as 
have  grown  crooked  with  the  proper  curve.  But  they  can- 
not always  get  pieces  of  exactly  the  shape  wanted,  in 
which  case  they  must  be  bent.  But  you  will  say,  "  How 
can  a  piece  of  timber,  a  foot  or  more  thick,  be  bent  ?"  By 
the  help  of  steam :  each  piece  is  put  into  a  hollow  box  or 
case,  and  the  steam  of  boiling  water  is  forced  in  upon  it, 
until  it  becomes  supple,  and  may  be  bent  to  the  shape  re- 
quired ;  when  dry,  they  are  hewn  to  fit  each  other,  and 
are  set  up,  by  letting  in  one  end  into  the  keel ;  and  beams 
are  placed  across  from  one  timber  to  another  at  the  top. 
Before  this,  however,  pieces  are  fastened  nearly  upright 
at  each  end  of  the  keel ;  one  called  the  stem,  and  the 
other  the  stern-post.  The  building  has  now  got  the  form 
of  a  ship,  though  it  looks  like  the  skeleton  of  one  ;  indeed 
the  timbers  may  very  well  be  called  the  ship's  bones. 
Well,  now  we  have  to  put  on  the  flesh  and  skin,  as  we 
may  say;  or,  as  the  ship-builder  calls  it,  the  planking. 
Plank  is  very  thick  board ;  oak  is  generally  used  for  this 
purpose,  because  it  is  so  strong  and  tough.  Every  sep- 


SHIP-BUILDING.  79 

arate  plank  is  fastened  to  the  timbers,  not  by  iron  nails, 
which  would  soon  rust  out  and  leave  holes,  but  by  long 
thick  pegs  of  wood,  called  tree-nails,  which  go  right 
through  both  the  plank  and  the  timber.  When  this  is  all 
put  on,  the  crevices,  or  seams,  between  the  edges  of  the 
planks,  are  stopped  up  by  having  oakum  (that  is,  old  rope 
picked  to  pieces)  driven  in  tightly,  and  all  coated  with 
tar.  But  even  outside  this,  thin  sheets  of  copper  are 
nailed  over  the  whole  of  the  part  that  will  be  under  wa- 
ter, to  keep  sea-worms  from  boring  holes  through  the 
planks. 

Now  the  masts  have  to  be  prepared.  For  small  vessels 
these  are  frequently  made  in  a  single  piece,  out  of  a  tall 
straight  pine-tree  ;  but  for  large  ships,  they  are  composed 
of  many  pieces  fitted  together,  and  firmly  bound  round 
with  iron  hoops.  They  are  set  upright  in  their  places, 
and  rest  upon  the  keel ;  or  rather  upon  another  long 
piece  of  timber  upon  the  keel,  called  the  keelson.  The 
bowsprit  is  a  sort  of  slanting  mast,  projecting  from  the 
fore  part  of  the  vessel,  and  resting  upon  the  stem. 


80  SHIP-BUILDING. 

Planks  are  now  put  down  upon  the  beams  that  go 
across,  to  form  the  deck,  and  the  ship  is  ready  for 
launching. 

The  launch  of  a  large  ship,  such  as  an  East  Indiaman, 
or  a  man-of-war,  is  a  very  fine  sight.  A  number  of 
people  assemble  round,  and  crowds  are  on  board  to  be 
launched  in  her.  The  stern  is  always  nearest  the  water ; 
and  a  lady  usually  takes  a  bottle  of  wine,  with  much 
ceremony,  and  dashes  it  against  her  bow,  calling  the 
vessel  by  the  name  that  has  been  chosen  for  her.  This 
takes  place  at  the  moment  when  all  is  ready ;  but  before 
this,  the  workmen  have  been  engaged  in  knocking  away 
with  hammers  the  long  posts  which  supported  the  ship 
on  each  side,  and  several  of  the  oak  blocks  under  her, 
that  she  may  slide  more  easily.  At  last  the  stout  rope 
that  holds  her  stem  is  cut,  and  away  she  slides,  slowly  at 
first,  but  very  majestically,  into  the  water,  amidst  the 
shouts  and  cheers  of  the  crowds  around.  The  rigging, 
that  is,  the  various  ropes,  and  the  upper  masts,  are  usually 
put  on  after  launching,  but  I  have  not  room  to  describe 


SHIP-BUILDING.  83 

them;  indeed,  you  could  scarcely  understand  any  de- 
scription, without  seeing  the  things  themselves. 

Well,  a  few  weeks  have  passed,  and  she  is  sailing  with 
her  gallant  crew  out  of  the  harbor,  upon  some  distant 
voyage.  See  how  gracefully  she  bows  before  the  fresh 
breeze,  how  her  taper  spars  bend  like  rods,  and  her  beau- 
tiful white  sails  reflect  the  sun  brightly  from  their  smooth, 
plump  surfaces.  She  dashes  the  foam  away  from  her 
bow,  and  cuts  a  path  for  herself  through  the  waters — she 
grows  less  and  less — now  she  is  but  a  speck ;  and  now 
she  is  out  of  sight.  Prosperity  attend  her  ! 

A  great  deal  of  the  excellence  of  a  ship  depends  upon 
the  sort  of  timber  that  is  used,  some  being  much  more  fit 
for  the  purpose  than  others.  Oak  is  generally  chosen  in 
England ;  but  in  the  East  Indies,  ships  are  built  of  a  very 
valuable  wood  called  teak.  There  are  several  qualities  in 
wood  that  render  it  fit  for  ship-building ;  such  as  that  of 
being  readily  cut,  being  firm  and  tough,  holding  pegs  or 
nails  when  driven  into  it,  and  floating  in  water.  Now  these 
properties  depend  on  its  peculiar  structure.  The  engra- 


84  SHIP-BUILDING 

ving  on  the  other  side  represents  a  very  thin  slice  of  wood 
cut  across  the  grain,  as  it  appears  when  viewed  through  a 
microscope.  Wood  is  composed  of  an  immense  number 
of  very  slender  tubes  or  pipes,  set  side  by  side,  and  running 
through  the  length :  some  are  larger  than  others,  and  you 
can  observe  ,the  ends  of  these  in  the  engraving.  In  the 
very  centre,  there  is  a  great  number  of  thin  cells,  like  the 
bubbles  of  froth,  but  solid ;  this  mass  is  called  the  pith. 
The  pipes  nearest  the  pith  are  pressed  by  the  growth  of 
wood  around  them,  and  are  therefore  more  firmly  set 
together ;  and  the  wood  of  this  part,  called  hcartwood,  is 
the  strongest  and  most  valuable.  It  is  because  of  these 
hollow  tubes  that  wood  is  lighter  than  water,  though  its 
actual  substance  is  heavier ;  it  is  these  that  make  it 
tough ;  and  it  is  these  that  yield  when  a  nail  is  driven  in, 
but  close  upon  it  by  their  spring,  or  elasticity,  and  hold  it 
firmly  fast. 

It  is  a  great  advantage  that  wood  should  last  a  great 
number  of  years  without  decay :  some  kinds  of  timber 
soon  rot,  and  are  therefore  not  at  all  fit  for  ship-building. 


SHIP-BUILDING. 


85 


SECTION  OP  THE  BRANCH  OF  A  TREE,  MAGNIFIED. 


86  SHIP-BUILDING 

The  celebrated  cedar  of  Lebanon,  often  mentioned  in  the 
Word  of  God,  is  perhaps  the  most  durable  of  all  timber, 
but  it  is  too  soft  and  brittle  for  ships.  The  cypress  also 
resists  the  influence  of  decay  for  an  amazing  number  of 
years ;  this  is  supposed  to  be  the  gopher-wood  of  which 
the  ark  was  built.  The  wood  of  those  trees  which  have 
grown  very  slowly  is  preferable  to  any  other ;  and  that 
which  has  grown  in  an  open  place,  is  better  than  that 
which  has  grown  in  a  close  forest. 

What  do  you  think  of  iron  for  ship-building?  You 
will  be  ready  to  suspect  me  of  quizzing  you ;  still  it  is  a 
fact,  that  vessels,  even  for  long  voyages,  are  built  of  iron, 
and  are  found  to  answer  very  well ;  in  many  respects  they 
are  better  than  those  built  of  wood.  Among  other 
advantages  which  iron  ships  possess,  I  may  mention 
these — that  after  having  been  many  years  in  the  water, 
their  bottoms  are  found  to  be  perfectly  clean,  and  free 
from  weeds  and  shells  ;  whereas  wood  soon  becomes  foul ; 
and  that  in  case  of  striking  upon  a  rock,  the  damage  done 
is  confined  to  a  small  part,  which  is  soon  mended ;  and 


SHIP-BUILDING. 


87 


as  these  ships  are  usually  built  with  perfectly  tight  com- 
partments, which  are  not  connected  with  each  other,  even 
if  a  hole  be  made  into  one  of  these  divisions,  it  does  not 
affect  the  rest  ;  but  a  wooden  ship,  in  such  a  case,  would 
fill  and  sink  in  a  few  hours. 


THE  STEAM-SHIP. 

WHAT  a  wonder  is  a  steam-ship  !  Little  more  than 
fifty  years  ago,  it  would  have  seemed  ridiculous  to  talk  of 
a  ship  pursuing  her  voyage  against  the  wind,  merely  by 
the  aid  of  steam.  When  Fulton  tried  his  first  steam-boat 
on  the  Hudson  river,  in  North  America,  many  of  the 
persons  assembled  to  see  her  were  fully  expecting  his 
disappointment,  and  were  already  sneering  and  laughing 
at  the  absurdity  of  the  thing :  but  when  she  came  rushing 
by,  like  a  living  creature,  their  sneers  gave  place  to  the 
utmost  astonishment.  The  first  steamer  that  visited  the 
West  Indies,  was  seen  by  the  crew  of  a  little  Spanish 
vessel,  near  Trinidad ;  who,  observing  that  she  came  on 
right  against  the  wind,  vomiting  smoke  and  fire,  and 

seeing  only  one  man  on  deck,  fancied  that  it  was  the  work 

88 


THE  STt AM-SHIP.  91 

of  the  evil  spirit,  and,  overcome  by  terror,  ran  their  vessel 
ashore,  and  escaped  into  the  woods. 

For  a  long  time  after  steam-vessels  had  begun  to  sail 
upon  the  rivers,  both  of  England  and  America,  it  was 
thought  impossible  by  such  means  to  cross  the  ocean. 
The  height  of  the  waves,  it  was  thought,  would  prevent 
the  paddles  from  striking  the  water  regularly,  and  the 
power  of  the  wind  when  blowing  on  the  side,  was  ex- 
pected to  force  the  vessel  over,  so  much  as  to  keep  one 
of  the  wheels  out  of  the  water.  But  within  these  few 
years,  the  experiment  has  been  tried  of  having  large 
steamers  to  go  between  England  and  America,  and  it  was 
found  that  they  succeeded  very  well,  although  the  wind 
was  strong  and  the  billows  high.  Others,  still  larger, 
were  soon  afterwards  prepared,  called  the  British  Queen 
and  the  President.  These  noble  vessels  were  nearly 
three  hundred  feet  long,  and  the  power  of  the  steam- 
engines  by  which  they  were  moved,  was  equal  to  the 
strength  of  five  hundred  horses.  The  British  Queen  is 
still  performing  her  voyages,  but  the  unfortunate  President 


92  THE  STEAM-SHIP. 

was  unhappily  lost  in  returning  from  America.  Those 
persons  who  expected  friends  to  come  in  her,  waited  very 
anxiously  day  after  day,  in  hope  that  she  would  arrive  at 
last ;  but  time  passed,  and  she  never  came ;  and  at  length 
it  was  certain  that  she  had  gone  down  with  all  her  crew 
and  passengers.  It  is  possible  that  her  boiler  blew  up, 
and  tore  her  to  atoms  in  a  moment,  or  perhaps  she  was 
struck  by  a  very  heavy  wave  in  a  storm,  with  such  force 
as  to  break  her  in  two,  and  so  sunk  into  the  deep  waters. 
Many  persons  who  are  accustomed  to  see  steamers,  and 
even  to  sail  in  them,  have  not  a  very  clear  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  steam  gives  motion  to  the  vessel. 
You  know  that  when  water  is  boiling  in  a  kettle,  the 
steam  is  driven  out  of  the  spout  with  great  force,  and  this 
force  is  the  power  that  moves  the  ship.  It  is  thus 
applied : — a  large  quantity  of  water  is  put  into  an  iron 
boiler,  and  heated ;  the  steam  is  let  into  one  end  of  a 
cylinder,  that  is,  a  wide  pipe,  in  which  is  a  piston — a 
kind  of  plug  that  moves  up  and  down  in  the  cylinder, 
quite  tightly.  Suppose  the  piston  is  now  at  that  end  at 


THE  STEAM-SHIP.  93 

which  the  steam  enters,  the  irresistible  force  of  the  steam 
instantly  drives  it  to  the  other  end;  but  when  it  arrives 
there,  a  little  hole  is  opened  in  the  side  of  the  cylinder, 
through  which  the  steam  escapes.  But,  at  the  same 
instant,  steam  comes  in  from  the  boiler,  through  another 
pipe,  into  the  other  end  of  the  cylinder,  and  drives  the 
piston  back  again  to  the  end  where  it  was  at  first. 
This  steam  escapes  by  another  hole,  or  valve,  and  more 
enters  again  at  the  first  end.  Thus  the  steam  coming 
into  the  cylinder  at  each  end  by  turns,  the  piston  is  kept 
constantly  driving  backward  and  forward.  An  iron  rod 
is  joined  to  the  piston,  which  goes  through  one  end  of 
the  cylinder,  so  as  to  move  freely,  and  yet  to  fit  perfectly 
tight ;  this  rod,  therefore,  partakes  of  the  motion  of  the 
piston,  and  is  ever  darting  forward  or  drawing  back.  But 
how  is  this  straightforward  motion  to  turn  round  the 
paddles  of  the  wheel  ?  I  dare  say  you  have  often  watched 
a  knife-grinder  in  the  street ;  he  puts  his  foot  upon  the 
treadle,  and  by  the  pressure  makes  it  move  evenly  up  and 
down ;  but  it  is  connected  by  a  rod  with  the  large  wheel, 


94  THE  STEAM-SHIP. 

and  in  a  very  curious  manner  causes  it  to  move  swiftly 
round  in  one  direction.  Just  in  the  same  manner  does 
the  piston-rod  move  round  a  large  wheel,  called  a  fly 
wheel,  and  this  moves  the  great  wheel  on  each  side  that 
bears  the  paddles.  These  are  boards  that  are  fixed  to 
the  edge  of  the  wheel,  which,  striking  the  water  as  they 
are  turned,  force  the  vessel  forward.  Of  course  there  are 
many  circumstances  which  I  have  not  mentioned,  but 
I  think  these  are  sufficient  to  give  you  a  tolerably  clear 
idea  of  the  principle. 


THE  CAVE  OP  ELEPHANTA- 

We  shall  here  attempt  to  give  a  description  of  this 
temple  of  idolatry  found  in  a  little  island  near  Bombay,  in 
the  East  Indies.  The  isle  is  named  Elephanta,  from  the 
figure  of  an  elephant  as  large  as  life,  which  seems  to  have 
been  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock.  The  temple  is  in  fact  a  cave, 
which  has  been,  by  means  of  great  labor,  hollowed  in 
the  rock,  leaving  rows  of  enormous  pillars  to  support  the 
roof,  and  many  statues  around  the  walls.  On  entering 
the  cave,  the  stranger  is  astonished  at  beholding  a  mul- 
titude of  monstrous  figures,  some  of  them  three  times  as 
high  as  a  man,  intended  to  represent  the  cruel  and  abo- 
minable beings  which  these  poor  ignorant  heathens  wor- 
shipped as  gods. 

"  The  upper  wall  at  the  end  of  the  cave  is  crowded 

with  figures,  and  the  attention  is  first  arrested  by  a  grand 

95 


96  THE  CAVE  OF  ELEPHANTA. 

bust,  representing  a  being  with  three  heads ;  the  middle 
face  is  presented  full,  and  expresses  a  dignified  compo- 
sure; the  head  and  neck  splendidly  covered  with  orna- 
ments. The  middle  head  depicts  Brahma,  or  the  creative 
attribute  ;  the  head  on  the  left,  Vishnoo,  or  the  preserv- 
ing ;  and  the  right,  Seva,  the  destroying  or  changing. 
The  face  of  Vishnoo  is  in  profile,  the  head-dress  rich  ;  in 
one  of  the  hands  is  a  lotus-flower,  in  the  other,  a  fruit 
resembling  a  pomegranate  ;  a  ring,  like  that  worn  by  the 
Hindoos  at  present,  is  on  one  of  the  wrists.  Seva  frowns 
with  a  terrific  countenance,  with  a  projecting  forehead, 
and  staring  eyes  ;  snakes  supply  the  place  of  hair,  and 
the  representation  of  a  human  skull  is  conspicuous  on  the 
covering  of  the  head ;  one  hand  grasps  a  monstrous 
hooded  snake,  the  other  a  smaller,  the  whole  calculated 
to  strike  terror  into  the  beholder.  The  height  of  this  bust 
is  about  eighteen  feet,  and  the  breadth  of  the  middle  face 
about  four." 

Many   other   of  the    figures    are   equally   monstrous ; 
some  having  four  heads,  others  three,   and   many  have 


THE  CAVE  OF  ELEPHANTA.  97 

two  pairs  of  arms ;  while  one  has  the  head  of  an 
elephant  upon  the  body  of  a  man.  At  the  furthest 
end  there  are  one  or  two  little  dark  rooms,  where 
once,  probably,  the  evil  deeds  of  idolatry  were  carried  on, 
but  which  now  are  full  of  bats,  spiders,  snakes,  and  scor- 
pions ;  the  fittest  inhabitants  of  such  places. 

It  is  not  known  at  what  period  this  vast  monument  of 
misspent  time  and  talents  was  made  ;  it  is  now,  however, 
going  fast  to  decay,  and  several  of  the  statues  and  pillars 
are  broken  and  fallen  down.  Soon  all  the  temples  of  idol 
gods  shall  be  thrown  down,  and  the  one  true  and  living 
God  be  everywhere  acknowledged  and  worshipped.  Then, 
instead  of  the  poor  and  wretched  slaves  of  the  wicked  one, 
ihis  happy  world  shall  be  full  of  the  servants  of  God,  over 
whom  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  reign  in  righteousness. 
We  are  sure  of  this,  for  He  has  promised  it. 


PEARL  DIVING. 

WE  have  seen  how  people  will  venture  into  dangerous 
situations,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  any  thing  that  is 
considered  valuable.  But  what  I  am  now  going  to 
describe,  is  still  more  extraordinary.  I  dare  say  you  have 
seen  pearls ;  those  beautiful  glossy  substances,  of  which 
necklaces,  ear-rings,  and  other  ornaments,  are  often  made. 
But  you  would  hardly  guess,  unless  you  were  informed, 
how  these  admired  and  elegant  articles  are  procured,  or 
what  they  really  are.  Would  you  imagine  that  they  are 
formed  in  the  shell  of  an  oyster  ?  Some  mussels  that  are 
found  in  rivers  in  England  produce  pearls,  but  the  great- 
est number,  and  the  most  beautiful,  are  the  production  of 
a  sort  of  oyster  that  is  found  in  the  seas  of  India. 

It  is  not  every  oyster  that  contains  pearls,  even  there ; 

it  is  believed  that  a  disease  in  the  animal  causes  them ; 
98 


Pearl  Fishery 
99 


PEARL  DIVING.  101 

and  it  is  said,  that  if  a  bit  of  sharp  wire  be  thrust  through 
the  shell  of  a  living  oyster,  so  as  just  to  touch  the  flesh 
without  killing  it,  and  it  be  then  placed  in  the  sea  again, 
in  a  short  time  there  will  be  a  pearl  made,  enclosing  the 
tip  of  the  wire. 

The  pearl-oysters  are  procured  by  diving.  A  number 
of  people  go  off  in  boats,  to  a  place  where  the  water  is 
deep,  and  then  some  of  them  dive  to  the  bottom,  and 
gather  oysters  up  as  fast  as  possible,  putting  them  into  a 
bag  hung  round  their  waist.  When  they  cannot  remain 
any  longer  without  breath,  they  jerk  a  rope  which  is 
fastened  to  them,  and  then  the  people  in  the  boat  pull 
them  up :  they  then  rest  a  short  time,  while  others  dive, 
and  thus  they  take  turns  all  through  the  day.  It  would 
be  very  tedious  and  troublesome  to  open  the  oysters  one 
by  one  ;  instead  of  which,  they  are  all  thrown  together 
into  a  large  pit,  where  they  soon  decay.  The  shells  then 
open  of  themselves,  and  they  are  taken  up  and  washed 
and  examined.  When  all  are  thrown  out,  the  decayed 
matter  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit  is  very  carefully  washed 


102  PEARL  DIVING. 

and  searched;   because  many  of  the  finest  pearls  drop 
out  before  the  shells  are  examined. 

It  is  an  unpleasant  and  dangerous  business.  The 
smell  that  proceeds  from  so  large  a  quantity  of  corrupting 
matter,  is  not  only  disagreeable,  but  exceedingly  un 
wholesome.  Large  and  fierce  fishes,  called  sharks,  prowl 
about  the  place,  and  frequently  seize  upon  the  unfortu- 
nate divers ;  and  even  if  they  escape  the  teeth  of  these 
dreadful  monsters,  the  practice  of  holding  the  breath  so 
long  is  so  very  hurtful,  that  they  seldom  live  long.  It  is 
not  uncommon  for  the  blood  to  gush  out  of  their  nose, 
mouth,  and  ears,  the  instant  that  they  come  out  of  the 
water.  When  next  you  admire  the  beauty  of  a  pearl, 
think  what  dangers  the  poor  men  have  gone  through,  who 
procured  it  for  you.  And  after  all,  it  has  nothing  to 
recommend  it  beyond  its  beauty,  for  it  is  not  of  the 
smallest  real  use. 

What  is  called  mother-of-pearl,  of  which  shirt-buttons, 
handles  for  knives,  and  other  little  articles  are  made,  is 
the  inner  substance  of  the  shell  of  the  pearl-oyster,  and, 


PEARL  DIVING.  103 

indeed,  of  many  other  sorts  of  shells.  The  outside, 
which  is  rough  and  strong,  is  ground  away,  until  the 
pearly  part  is  exposed,  which  is  beautifully  clear,  and 
reflects  the  light  in  a  play  of  the  most  brilliant  colors. 
A  large  quantity  of  these  shells  is  brought  to  England 
every  year ;  but  the  Chinese  are  much  more  skilful  than 
our  workmen,  in  the  manufacture  of  small  articles  out 
of  this  substance  ;  giving  them  a  finish  and  beauty  which 
we  are  not  able  to  attain.  The  inside  of  many  kinds  of 
bivalve  shells  (that  is,  such  as  are  made  up  of  two  pieces, 
folding  together  with  a  hinge)  is  of  a  pearly  appear- 
ance ;  and  so  is  that  of  some  other  kinds.  One  kind  in 
particular,  called  ear-shells,  is  of  exceeding  lustre  and 
beauty. 


ANCIENT  PUNISHMENTS. 

SINCE  I  am  speaking  of  punishments,  however,  I  will 
describe  to  you  one  or  two  very  curious  modes  of  punish- 
ment, that  are  now  no  longer  in  use.  The  figure  in  the 
middle  of  the  opposite  engraving,  is  represented  as  wearing 
"the  drunkard's  cloak."  When  a  man  had  abandoned 
himself  to  drunkenness,  and  could  not  be  reclaimed  by 
advice  or  warning,  this  singular  cloak  was  prepared  for 
him,  in  hope  that  shame  might  have  a  more  salutary  in- 
fluence. One  end  of  a  large  cask  was  taken  out,  and  a 
round  hole  cut  in  the  other  end  ;  the  cask  was  then  passed 
over  him,  so  as  to  rest  on  his  shoulders,  while  his  head 
came  out  at  the  hole ;  two  holes  were  also  made  in  front, 
through  which  his  hands  were  passed.  Thus  the  drunkard 

was  led  through  the  streets,  amidst  shouts  of  laughter,  the 
104 


I 


ANCIENT  PUNISHMENTS.  107 

object  of  the  ridicule  and  contempt  of  his  fellow-towns- 
men. 

The  strange  head-dress  worn  by  the  woman  in  the  same 
picture,  was  called  the  branks,  or  sometimes  "  the  gossip's 
bridle :"  it  was  in  use  at  Newcastle-under-Lyne  about  two 
hundred  years  ago,  and  though  it  has  long  been  laid  aside, 
it  is  still  shown  as  a  curiosity  to  visitors  at  the  court- 
house of  that  town.  Its  object  was  to  expose  those 
women  who  were  fond  of  gossiping  from  house  to  house, 
while  their  own  homes  and  family  duties  were  neglected. 
As  in  the  other  case,  an  officer  led  the  talkative  lady 
through  the  town,  exposed  to  the  public  gaze,  as  a  whole- 
some example  to  others  who  were  disposed  to  indulge  their 
tongues  too  freely. 

Another  punishment  was  "  ducking  a  scold."  A  female 
of  this  description  was  seized  by  her  neighbors  and 
conveyed  to  the  side  of  a  river,  or  to  a  public  wharf;  then 
being  tied  fast  in  a  chair,  she  was  let  down  into  the 
water  and  ducked  several  times,  till  they  considered  her 
sufficiently  punished. 


108  ANCIENT  PUNISHMENTS. 

The  little  building  in  the  distance  of  the  scene  figured 
is  the  cage  ;  a  common  mode  of  confinement  with  our 
forefathers.  One  used  to  stand  on  old  London  Bridge, 
into  which  trifling  offenders  were  put  for  exposure.  There 
were  several  other  modes  in  use  formerly,  but  they  are 
now  nearly  forgotten. 


The  Peter  Bottle  Mountain. 


110 


THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN. 

THE  lofty  and  majestic  mountains  which  rise  here  and 
there  from  the  earth,  and  lift  their  hoary  heads  into  the 
very  clouds,  are  well  fitted  to  give  us  grand  ideas  of  the 
power  of  the  Most  High  God.  Some  of  them  are  vol- 
canoes; that  is,  mountains  which  are  hollow  in  the 
middle,  where  there  is  a  vast  furnace  of  fire,  which 
sometimes  bursts  out  and  boils  over.  Some  are  so  high 
as  to  be  perpetually  covered  with  snow ;  for  at  a  very 
great  height,  the  air  becomes  extremely  cold.  Some 
are  o'  very  singular  shapes ;  and  few  are  more  remark- 
able in  this  respect  than  the  Peter  Botte,  in  the  Island 
of  Mauritius.  It  is  so  called  from  a  man  of  that  name, 

who,  it  is  said,  tried  to  climb  to  the  top  of  it,  but  fell 

111 


112  THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN 

aown  the  dreadful  precipice,  and  was  dashed  to  pieces 
Look  at  it  in  the  picture,  and  you  will  wonder  that  any 
man  should  be  so  venturous  as  to  attempt  such  a  thing. 
Yet  a  few  years  ago,  a  party  of  English  gentlemen 
(Englishmen,  you  know,  will  dare  any  thing)  determined 
again  to  try  to  ascend  the  Peter  Botte.  Captain  Lloyd, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Dawkins,  first  attempted  to  climb 
it  in  1831,  and  reached  the  narrow  part,  called  the  neck, 
where  they  planted  a  ladder,  but  which  did  not  reach 
half  way  up  the  perpendicular  face  of  the  rock  beyond. 
About  a  year  afterwards,  he  resolved  to  attempt  it  again, 
accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Phillpotts,  Lieutenant  Kep- 
pel,  and  Lieutenant  Taylor,  who  has  given  us  an  account 
of  the  ascent.  I  think  you  will  like  to  have  it  in  this  gen- 
tleman's own  words. 

*'  All  our  preparations  being  made,  we  started,  and  a 
more  picturesque  line  of  march  I  have  seldom  seen 
Our  van  was  composed  of  about  fifteen  or  t\\enty 
sepoys,  in  every  variety  of  costume,  together  with  a 
few  negroes,  carrying  our  food,  dry  clothes,  &c.  Our 


THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN.  113 

path  lay  up  a  very  steep  ravine,  formed  by  the  rains 
in  the  wet  season,  which,  having  loosened  all  the 
stones,  made  it  any  thing  but  pleasant ;  those  below 
were  obliged  to  keep  a  bright  lookout  for  tumbling 
rocks,  and  one  of  these  missed  Keppel  and  myself  by  a 
mirarle. 

"On  rising  to  the  shoulder,  a  view  burst  upon  us, 
which  quite  defies  my  descriptive  powers.  We  stood 
on  a  little  narrow  neck  of  land,  about  twenty  yards  in 
length.  On  the  side  which  we  mounted,  we  looked  back 
into  the  deep-wooded  gorge  we  had  passed  up ;  while, 
on  the  opposite  of  the  neck,  which  was  between  six  and 
seven  feet  broad,  the  precipice  went  shear  down  fifteen 
hundred  feet  to  the  plain.  One  extremity  of  the  neck 
was  equally  precipitous,  and  the  other  was  bounded  by 
what  to  me  was  the  most  magnificent  sight  I  ever  saw. 
A  narrow,  knife-like  edge  of  rock,  broken  here  and  there 
y  precipitous  faces,  ran  up  in  a  conical  form,  to  about 

three  hundred  or  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  us : 

8 


114  THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN. 

and  on  the  very  pinnacle  old  *  Peter  Botte*  frowned  in 
all  his  glory. 

"  After  a  short  rest,  we  proceeded  to  work.  The  ladder 
had  been  left  by  Lloyd  and  Dawkins  last  year.  It  was 
about  twelve  feet  high,  and  reached,  as  you  may  perceive 
about  half-way  up  a  face  of  perpendicular  rock.  The 
foot,  which  was  spiked,  rested  on  a  ledge,  not  quite 
visible  in  the  sketch,  with  barely  three  inches  on  each 
side.  A  negro  of  Lloyd's  clambered  from  the  top  of  the 
ladder  by  the  cleft  in  the  face  of  the  rock ;  he  carried  a 
small  cord  round  his  middle ;  and  it  was  fearful  to  see 
the  cool,  steady  way  in  which  he  climbed,  where  a  single 
loose  stone  or  false  hold  must  have  sent  him  down  into 
the  abyss.  However,  he  fearlessly  scrambled  away,  till 
at  length  we  heard  him  halloo  from  under  the  neck, 
'All  right.'  These  negroes  use  their  feet  exactly  like 
monkeys,  grasping  with  them  every  projection  almost  as 
firmly  as  with  their  hands.  The  line  carried  up,  he 
made  fast  above,  and  up  it  we  all  four  shinned  in 
succession.  It  was,  joking  apart,  awful  work.  In 


THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN.  115 

several  places  the  ridge  ran  to  an  edge,  not  a  foot 
broad ;  and  I  could  as  I  held  on,  half  sitting,  half  kneel- 
ing, across  the  ridge,  have  kicked  my  right  shoe  down 
to  the  plain  on  one  side,  and  my  left  into  the  bottom  of 
the  ravine  on  the  other  The  only  thing  that  surprised 
me  was  my  own  steadiness  and  freedom  from  all  giddi- 
ness. I  had  been  nervous  in  mounting  the  ravine  in 
the  morning ;  but  gradually  I  got  so  excited  and  deter- 
mined to  succeed,  that  I  could  look  down  that  dizzy 
height  without  the  smallest  sensation  of  swimming  in  the 
head:  nevertheless,  I  held  on* uncommonly  hard,  and  felt 
very  well  satisfied  when  I  was  safe  under  the  neck.  And 
a  more  extraordinary  situation  I  never  was  in.  The  head, 
which  is  an  enormous  mass  of  rock,  about  thirty-five  feet 
in  height,  overhangs  its  base  many  feet  on  every  side.  A 
ledge  of  tolerably  level  rock  runs  round  three  sides  of  the 
base,  about  six  feet  in  width,  bounded  everywhere  by  the 
abrupt  edge  of  the  precipice,  except  in  the  spot  where  it 
is  joined  by  the  ridge  up  which  we  climbed.  In  one  spot 
the  head,  though  overhanging  its  base  several  feet,  reaches 


116  THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN. 

only  perpendicularly  over  the  edge  of  the  precipice  ;  and, 
most  fortunately,  it  was  at  the  very  spot  where  we 
mounted.  Here  it  was  that  we  reckoned  on  getting  up. 
A  communication  being  established  with  the  shoulder  by 
a  double  line  of  ropes,  we  proceeded  to  get  up  the  neces- 
sary materiel,  Lloyd's  portable  ladder,  additional  coils  of 
rope,  crow-bars,  &c.  But  now  the  question,  and  a  puzzler 
too,  was,  how  to  get  the  ladder  up  against  the  rock.  Lloyd 
had  prepared  some  iron  arrows,  with  thongs,  to  fire  over ; 
and  having  got  up  a  gun,  he  made  a  line  fast  round  his 
body,  which  we  all  held  on,  and  going  over  the  edge  of 
the  precipice  on  the  opposite  side,  he  leaned  back  against 
the  line,  and  fired  over  the  least  projecting  part.  Had 
the  line  broken,  he  would  have  fallen  eighteen  hundred 
feet.  Twice  this  failed ;  and  then  he  had  recourse  to  a 
large  stone  with  a  lead-line,  which  swung  diagonally,  and 
seemed  a  feasible  plan :  several  times  he  made  beautiful 

heaves,  but  the  provoking  line  would  not  catch,  and  away 

0 
went  the  stone  far  down  below.      At  length  the  wind 

shifted  for  about  a  minute,  and  over  went  the  stone,  and 


THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN  117 

was  eagerly  seized  on  the  opposite  side.  Three  lengths 
of  the  ladder  were  put  together  on  the  ledge :  a  large  line 
was  attached  to  the  one  which  was  over  the  head,  and 
carefully  drawn  up ;  and  finally,  a  two-inch  rope,  io  the 
extremity  of  which  we  lashed  the  top  of  our  ladder,  then 
lowered  it  gently  over  the  precipice  till  it  hung  perpen- 
dicularly, and  was  steadied  by  two  negroes  on  the  ridge 
below.  *  All  right ;  now  hoist  away !'  and  up  went  the 
ladder,  till  the  foot  came  to  the  edge  of  our  ledge,  when 
it  was  lashed  in  firmly  to  the  neck.  We  then  hauled 
away  on  the  guy  to  steady  it,  and  made  it  fast ;  a  line  was 
passed  over  by  the  lead-line  to  hold  on  by,  and  up  went 
Lloyd,  screeching  and  hallooing,  and  we  all  three  scram- 
bled after  him.  The  union-jack  and  a  boat-hook  were 
passed  up,  and  old  England's  flag  waved  freely  and  gal- 
lantly on  the  redoubted  Peter  Botte.  No  sooner  was  it 
seen  flying,  than  the  Undaunted  frigate  saluted  in  the 
harbor,  and  the  guns  of  our  saluting  battery  replied  :  for 
though  our  expedition  had  been  kept  a  secret  till  we 
started,  it  was  made  known  the  morning  of  our  ascent,  and 


118  THE  PETER  BOTTE  MOUNTAIN. 

all  hands  were  on  the  lookout,  as  we  afterwards  learned. 
We  then  got  a  bottle  of  wine  to  the  top  of  the  rock, 
named  it  King  William's  Peak,  and  drank  his  Majesty's 
health  with  hands  round  the  jack,  and  then,  *  Hip,  hip 
hip,  hurrah  ! ' " 

I  have  not  room  to  describe  to  you  how  the  gallant 
party  descended  to  the  shoulder  to  dinner ;  how  they 
climbed  again  upon  the  head  to  sleep  ;  how  they  burnt  a 
blue  light  when  night  came  on ;  and  how  beautifully  the 
glare  shone  upon  the  wild  scene  around.  How  the  wind 
blew  strong  in  the  night ;  how  they  drank  all  their  brandy, 
and  kept  tucking  in  the  blankets  the  whole  night  in  vain 
attempts  to  keep  out  the  cold.  But  I  shall  content  myself 
with  telling  you  that  they  left  their  flag  flying,  and 
descended  in  perfect  safety  to  their  admiring  countrymen 
below. 


Human  Hair  and  Globules  of  Blood  Magnified. 
120 


THE  BLOOD  AND  HAIR. 

THE  good  King  David  says,  "  I  am  fearfully  and  won- 
derfully made ;"  and  he  praises  God  for  it.  You  have 
perhaps  thought,  that  the  blood  of  your  body  was  all 
one  sort  of  substance ;  and  may  be  surprised  when  you 
are  told,  that  it  consists  of  several  very  distinct  sub- 
stances, much  unlike  each  other.  Soon  after  a  portion 
of  blood  has  been  taken  out  of  the  body,  it  separates 
into  two  parts,  a  thin  transparent  fluid,  and  a  dark  solid 
substance,  almost  like  flesh.  After  a  short  time  longer 
this  solid  again  divides  into  a  soft  white  elastic  matter, 
and  an  immense  number  of  exceedingly  small  red  globules 
or  balls.  These  cannot  be  distinguished  without  a 
microscope ;  but  with  that  instrument  they  are  seen 
to  be  .ransparent  in  themselves,  but  covered  with  a  red 
skin.  Now,  all  the  parts  of  the  body,  the  spittle,  the 

tears,  milk,  and  even  the  hardest  parts,   the   hair,  the 

121 


122  THE  BLOOD  AND  HAIR. 

nails,  the  bones,  and  the  teeth,  are  made  from  the  blood ; 
and  as  all  those  parts  are  composed  of  a  great  number  of 
fibres  or  threads,  twined  together,  it  is  believed  that 
these'  threads  are  made  by  a  number  of  globules  joining 
together  in  a  line.  You  may  see  these  fibres  in  flesh, 
by  taking  a  very  small  piece  of  lean  meat  that  has  been 
much  boiled,  and  pulling  it  apart,  when  it  will  all  sepa 
rate  into  threads.  The  upper  part  of  the  engraving 
shows  these  things :  at  the  right  hand,  are  some  fibres 
much  magnified ;  at  the  top  are  some  globules  becoming 
joined  together  to  form  the  fibres,  and  below  are  two 
sets  of  globules,  one  set  with  the  red  skin,  and  the  other 
without  it. 

The  larger  figures  below,  represent  the  structure  of  the 
hair,  which  is  not  less  curious.  Every  hair  is  a  slender 
tube,  which  has  a  swollen  part  at  the  bottom,  like  the 
bulb  of  a  flower,  by  which  it  is  held  in  the  skin.  In 
young  people,  this  tube  is  filled  with  soft,  dark-colored 
matter,  which  gives  the  tint  of  the  hair ;  this  is  shown 
in  the  right-hand  figures :  but  when  persons  grow  very 


THE  BLOOD  AND  HAIR.  123 

aged,  the  colored  matter  shrivels  up  into  the  form  of  a 
dry  pith,  running  through  the  middle,  and  then  the  tube 
is  seen  to  have  no  color  of  itself,  but  appears  of  a 
silvery  white.  This  is  represented  in  the  three  figures 
at  the  left  hand.  Thus  we  see,  that  our  Heavenly  Father 
has  displayed  his  wondrous  wisdom,  in  making  these 
poor  bodies  of  ours  ;  and  this  should  teach  us  to  love 
and  to  confide  in  Him ;  for,  as  the  Lord  Jesus  says, 
"  Even  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered." 

In  some  animals,  the  hairs  are  so  much  altered  in  their 
appearance,  that  we  could  hardly  suppose  them  to  be 
such ;  and,  in  some  of  these  we  can  observe  more  dis- 
tinctly, that  they  are  tubular.  The  feathers  of  a  bird 
are  only  hairs  in  another  form,  and  we  see  them  quite 
hollow  in  the  part  called  the  quill,  as  has  been  already 
described,  while  in  the  hedgehog  of  our  own  country,  and 
still  more,  in  the  porcupine,  we  find  instead  of  hairs, 
stiff  hollow  spines. 


ASTRONOMY. 

THIS  is  rather  a  hard  word,  but  it  means  a  knowledge 
of  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars.  When  you  look  up  at  the 
blue  sky,  it  appears  as  if  you  saw  a  vast  arched  ceiling,  but 
this  is  only  a  deception  of  the  sight :  you  do  not  in  fact 
look  upon  any  object,  but  into  empty  space,  which  would 
appear  deeply  black  if  it  were  not  for  the  light  reflected 
from  the  particles  of  the  air,  and  is  blue  only  because  the 
air  is  slightly  tinged  with  that  color.  Now  here  and 
there  in  this  immense  and  empty  space,  there  are  scattered 
large  round  worlds,  far  larger  probably  than  you  have  any 
notion  of,  and  this  earth  on  which  we  are  living  is  one  of 
these  worlds.  You  are  aware  that  if  you  see  even  a  large 
object,  a  house  or  a  tree,  at  a  great  distance,  it  appears 

very  small,  and  smaller  still  if  you  go  further  off.    Hence 
124 


Comparative  Size  of  Planets. 
125 


ASTRONOMY.  i27 

these  worlds  appear  very  small  because  they  are  at  an 
immense  distance,  and  some  of  them  so  excessively  dis- 
tant that  they  are  seen  only  as  little  shining  specks,which 
we  call  stars.  Some  of  these  are  so  placed  as  to  move 
in  circles  round  a  larger  one  which  stands  still  in  the 
middle,  and  these  are  called  planets.  This  earth  is  a 
planet,  and  is  continually  moving,  with  about  twenty- 
eight  others,  round  the  sun.  The  principal  of  these  are 
here  represented,  that  you  may  see  their  sizes  as  com- 
pared with  one  another;  by  which  you  will  perceive, 
that  this  earth,  great  as  it  appears,  with  all  its  oceans  and 
countries,  its  houses,  and  fields,  and  trees,  and  ships,  is 
but  one  of  the  very  smallest.  1,  Mercury;  2,  Venus;  3, 
Earth ;  4,  Mars ;  5,  Jupiter ;  6,  Saturn :  there  is  another 
large  one,  called  Uranus,  nearly  half  as  large  as  Saturn, 
which  there  was  not  room  to  represent.  There  is  a 
curious  double  ring  round  Saturn,  one  within  the  other. 
The  sun,  round  which  these  great  worlds  roll,  is  believed 
to  be  a  solid  dark  body,  like  one  of  them,  but  surrounded, 
at  some  distance,  by  a  luminous  atmosphere.  I  will  try 


128  ASTRONOMY. 

to  explain  this.  If  you  could  make  a  thin  hollow  ball 
of  soft  cotton  wadding,  and  then  place  in  the  centre  of  it  a 
marble,  so  as  just  not  to  touch  the  cotton,  the  marble 
would  represent  the  sun's  body,  and  the  cotton  its  at- 
mosphere. Now  if  you  imagine  the  outside  of  the 
cotton  to  be  shining,  (I  do  not  mean  glossy,  but  really  light 
in  itself,  like  the  flame  of  a  candle,)  you  will  know  what  I 
mean  by  a  luminous  atmosphere.  The  sun  is  a  great  deal 
larger  than  all  the  planets  put  together ;  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  almost  all  the  stars  you  see  by  night  are  suns, 
each  surrounded  by  its  own  set  of  planets,  which  are  not 
large  enough  to  be  seen  at  this  distance. 

But  a  good  many  of  the  twenty-nine  planets  that  roll 
round  our  sun,  roll  round  other  planets  as  well,  and  are 
called  moons.  There  are  six  moons  constantly  whirling 
round  Uranus,  seven  round  Saturn,  and  the  double  ring 
is  continually  whirling  round  also;  four  round  Jupiter, 
and  one  round  the  Earth.  When  you  look  up  at  the 
lovely  moon,  cheering  the  lonely  night  and  casting  her 
silvery  lustre  over  the  silent  earth,  think  that  you  are 


ASTRONOMY.  129 

looking  upon  another  world,  fashioned  like  the  one  you 
are  living  on.  Many  wise  men  have  thought  that  all  the 
planets  and  moons,  and  even  the  sun,  are  inhabited  by 
men  like  ourselves ;  or  at  least,  by  creatures  capable  of 
knowing  and  worshipping  God.  It  is  true  there  is  not  a 
word  about  this  in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  still  it  may  be 
true ;  and  if  not  inhabited  now,  it  is  likely  that  they  will 
be  after  the  resurrection,  when  those  who  are  redeemed 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  put  on  bodies  of  glory  and  beauty 
like  His. 

Some  of  the  reasons  why  the  planets  are  thought  to  be 
inhabited  I  will  mention.  You  have  been  told  that  they 
all  move  round  the  sun ;  they  all  move  round  in  another 
manner  also,  which  you  will  understand  by  comparing  it 
to  the  spinning  of  an  apple  hanging  from  a  thread  tied  to 
its  stem.  If  you  hold  the  thread  in  your  hand,  and 
while  the  apple  is  twirling  round  move  it  in  a  circle 
round  a  candle,  you  will  see  the  two  motions  which  the 
planets  have.  The  twirling  is  called  rotation  on  an  axis. 
Now  some  of  the  planets  do  not  move  round  the  sun  in  a 


130  ASTRONOMY. 

* 

perfectly  even  plane,  but  a  sloping  one,  as  if  you  should 
hold  the  apple  so  as  to  be  a  little  higher  in  one  part  of 
the  circle,  and  lower  in  the  opposite.  This  causes  the 
difference  of  the  seasons,  without  which  there  would  be 
neither  summer  nor  winter,  but  the  year  would  be  all 
alike.  Again,  the  rotation  on  the  axis  is  the  cause  of  day 
and  night ;  without  which  every  part  of  the  planet  would 
see  the  sun  for  half  the  time  of  its  revolution,  and  would 
be  without  it  the  other  half;  and  one  of  the  planets 
makes  its  revolution  only  once  in  eighty  years,  so  that  if 
it  were  not  for  the  rotation,  there  would  be  a  forty  years' 
day,  and  a  forty  years'  night.  The  providing  of  some 
of  the  planets  with  moons,  particularly  those  which  are 
most  distant  from  the  sun,  can  only  be,  as  far  as  we  can 
understand,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  light  by  night ; 
but  if  there  be  no  inhabitants  in  these  worlds,  it  would 
appear  to  our  poor  feeble  judgments  useless  to  have 
change  of  seasons,  and  alternate  day  and  night,  and 
provision  for  cheering  the  dark  hours  with  borrowed 
light.  The  moon,  also,  which  is  near  enough  to  us  for 


ASTRONOMY.  131 

us  to  discover,  with  a  telescope,  something  of  its  surface, 
and  which  on  that  account  we  know  most  about,  is,  as  I 
shall  presently  describe  to  you,  uneven,  with  valleys  and 
mountains,  like  the  world  we  live  on;  and  as  in  many 
other  respects  both  the  planets  arid  moons  are  like  thi 
earth,  it  is  natural  to  think  that  they  are  not  desert 
wastes,  but  covered  with  beings  capable  of  glorifying 
God,  who  has  made  all  things  for  his  glory.  Still,  I 
repeat,  we  cannot  be  certain  of  this,  as  God  may  have 
many  other  uses  for  these  brilliant  globes,  than  our  weak 
reason  can  discover.  Whether  inhabited  or  not,  we  may 
be  sure  that  they  are  worthy  of  Him  who  made  them. 

Besides  these  planets  and  moons,  there  are  several 
other  bodies  called  comets,  which  move  round  the  sun 
also,  but  not  in  a  circle  as  the  planets  do,  but  in  an 
exceedingly  long  oval.  These  are  very  singular  bodies, 
and  astronomers  do  not  as  yet  know  very  much  about 
them.  Their  usual  appearance  is  that  of  a  dim  star 
sometimes,  however,  very  large  and  bright,  surrounded 
with  a  haziness  or  faint  cloud  of  light,  and  frequently 


132  ASTfcoAOMY. 

attended  by  a  long  stream  of  dim  light,  which  stretches 
out  behind,  and  is  called  the  tail.  When  a  comet 
approaches  the  sun,  it  moves  faster  and  faster,  until  it 
at  length  whirls  round  that  luminary  with  astonishing 
rapidity,  and  then  gradually  loses  its  speed  as  it  flies 
off  again,  through  the  courses  of  the  planets,  into 
those  distant  regions  of  empty  space,  where  the  human 
eye  cannot  follow  it,  even  though  assisted  by  the  finest 
telescopes.  Yet,  at  the  appointed  time,  God  brings  them 
round  again,  and  wheels  them,  immense  as  they  are, 
towards  the  sun.  The  perfect  regularity  with  which 
the  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  are  performed,  is 
calculated  to  give  us  higher  thoughts  of  the  greatness 
of  Him  that  made  them.  "He  appointed  the  moon  for 
seasons;  the  sun  knoweth  his  going  down."  "Lift  up 
your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold,  who  hath  created  these 
things,  that  bringeth  out  their  host  by  number;  He  call- 
eth  them  all  by  names  by  the  greatness  of  His  might ;  for 
that  He  is  strong  in  power ;  not  one  faileth." 


The  Moon, 


134 


THE  MOON. 

THE  moon,  being  by  far  the  nearest  to  us  of  all  these 
worlds,  would  therefore  appear  much  larger,  only  that  it 
is  in  reality  the  smallest  of  them  all.  When  seen  through 
a  telescope,  the  moon  appears  covered  all  over  with 
risings  and  hollows,  in  a  very  irregular  manner,  which,  to 
the  naked  eye,  seem  large  patches  of  bright  and  dark, 
and  make  what  is  foolishly  called  the  face  in  the  moon. 
The  best  time  to  look  at  these  through  a  telescope  is  at 
about  half-moon ;  when,  with  a  powerful  instrument,  you 
can  see  that  every  dusky  patch  is  a  valley,  and  every 
bright  spot  a  hill.  Like  all  the  planets,  the  moon  has  no 
light  of  its  own,  but  appears  bright  merely  because  it  is 

shone  upon  by  the  sun ;  at  half-moon  the  sun's  rays  fall 

135 


136  THE  MOON. 

slantingly  upon  the  moon,  and  the  ridges  of  hills  and 
mountains  throw  strong  and  dark  shadows  on  the  side 
farthest  from  the  sun.  Some  of  the  mountains  are  very 
lofty,  and  these  are  the  brightest  spots  of  all.  They  are 
often  of  curious  forms :  a  very  common  scene  in  the 
moon  is  a  range  of  high  hills  set  in  a  large  circle,  enclos- 
ing a  plain,  in  the  very  middle  of  which  there  is  a  smaller 
hill  alone. 

The  engraving  represents  the  appearance  of  the  moon 
through  a  telescope,  as  seen  at  the  full.  The  distance  of 
the  moon  is  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  miles  ;  that 
is,  a  distance  which  if  you  were  to  walk  twenty  miles 
every  day,  would  take  you  more  than  thirty  years  to 
travel ;  and  yet  this  distance  is  trifling  compared  with 
that  of  some  of  the  stars.  If  we  could  travel  to  the  moon, 
we  should  see  this  earth  in  the  sky,  exactly  as  the  moon 
appears  to  us  now,  but  about  thirteen  times  larger  ;  and 
it  is  likely  that  the  divisions  of  land  and  water,  the 
oceans  and  seas,  the  continents  and  islands,  would  be  seen 
as  they  are  upon  a  map  ;  and  as  the  earth  turns  upon  its 


THE  MOON.  137 

axis  once  every  twenty-four  hours,  every  side  of  it  would 
be  visible  to  the  moon  during  that  time.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  the  clouds,  which  so  often  fill  our  atmo- 
sphere, and  prevent  our  seeing  the  heavenly  bodies,  would, 
in  a  great  measure,  prevent  the  surface  of  the  earth  from 
being  plainly  discerned  there.  There  is  this  difference 
between  the  appearance  of  the  earth  and  the  moon,  that 
whereas  the  latter  rises  and  sets  to  us,  the  earth  would 
always  be  in  the  same  place  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
moon,  never  changing  its  position,  but  apparently  fixed  in 
the  sky. 

The  sun  and  the  moon  serve  other  purposes  to  this 
earth,  besides  the  merely  affording  light  to  it:  without 
them  we  should  have  no  mode  of  measuring  time,  but 
the  order  and  exact  regularity  of  the  revolutions  of  these 
bodies  afford  us  a  correct  measure  of  time.  And  this 
appears  to  have  been  the  meaning  of  God,  when  he  said, 
"  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  to  divide 
the  day  from  the  night ;  and  let  them  be  for  signs,  and  for 
seasons,  and  for  days,  and  for  years."  The  tides  depend 


138  THF  MOON. 

on  the  motions  of  the  sun  and  moon ;  and  without  them 
navigation  could  not  be  safely  carried  on,  as  the  position 
of  a  vessel  out  of  sight  of  land  could  not  be  ascertained,  as 
it  now  can  very  exactly. 


ICEBERGS. 

IN  one  of  the  Psalms,  where  several  of  the  wonderful 
works  of  God  are  mentioned,  it  is  said,  "  Who  can  stand 
before  His  cold?"  And  indeed  the  power  of  the  cold  in 
the  countries  that  lie  near  the  Poles,  is  so  dreadful  that  no 
living  thing  can  endure  it,  so  that  they  are  a  dreary  soli- 
tude, without  inhabitants,  without  beasts  or  birds,  without 
plants  or  trees  or  pleasant  fields.  But  ice  is  found  there 
in  all  manner  of  forms,  some  of  them  most  strange  and 
surprising.  You  see  before  you  a  representation  of  the 
seas  as  near  to  those  regions  as  man  can  reach,  though 
this  is  still  a  long  way  from  the  Pole.  These  enormous 
mountains,  with  rugged  overhanging  sides,  are  formed 
entirely  of  ice,  and  are  sometimes  several  miles  long,  and 

twice  as  high  as  the  ball  of  St.  Paul's.     They  are  called 

141 


142  ICEBERGS. 

Icebergs,  the  word  berg  signifying  a  mountain.  They  are 
formed  in  the  valleys  that  reach  down  to  the  sea,  by  the 
snow  which  falls  every  winter  gradually  becoming  frozen 
into  a  solid  mass.  Vast  pieces  are  split  off  from  time  to 
time  by  different  causes,  and  fall  into  the  sea,  where  they 
float  about  and  form  very  grand  and  majestic  objects. 
They  are  very  dangerous  to  approach  ;  and  the  ships  that 
are  sent  into  these  parts  to  procure  whales,  are  often 
destroyed  by  them.  Sometimes  an  iceberg  suddenly  bursts 
into  several  pieces,  any  one  of  which  would  be  sufficient 
to  wreck  a  ship  if  it  fell  on  her.  At  other  times,  they 
turn  over  in  the  water,  and  make  such  mighty  waves  as 
are  very  dangerous.  But  still  more  perilous  is  it  when 
many  of  these  great  masses  of  ice  are  together,  and  in 
motion  ;  for  they  come  on  and  frequently  surround  an  un- 
fortunate ship,  before  she  can  escape  ;  and  then,  pressing 
together  with  a  force  that  nothing  can  resist,  squeeze  and 
crush  her  oaken  timbers  as  you  would  crack  a  walnut ;  or 
sometimes,  by  pressing  under  her  keel,  lift  her  dry  out  of 
the  water.  Now  just  imagine  the  situation  of  a  crew  of 


ICEBERGS.  148 

poor  sailors,  many  hundred  miles  away  from  home,  with 
their  vessel  broken  to  pieces,  or  else  enclosed  by  impene- 
trable ice,  the  winter  coming  on,  in  such  a  terrible  region 
as  this,  where  they  could  not  expect  the  slightest  chance 
of  relief  from  human  means,  and  the  only  prospect  that  of 
being  starved  or  frozen  to  death !  The  good  providence 
of  God  may,  however,  interpose ;  a  few  hours  may  open 
the  ice  in  a  most  unexpected  manner,  so  as  to  free  the  ship 
again  if  she  has  only  been  enclosed ;  and  even  if  wrecked, 
may  allow  other  ships  to  approach  and  relieve  the  unfor- 
tunate men  from  their  desolate  situation. 

Such  accidents  occasionally  happen  to  the  ships  which 
are  sent  out  on  the  whale-fishery,  as  I  described  to  you : 
for  the  Greenland  whale  is  found  only  in  these  cold  and 
dreary  seas,  and  to  obtain  the  oil  and  whalebone  of  this 
animal,  many  ships  go  every  year  from  England  and 
other  countries  into  the  regions  of  ice  and  snow.  They 
eave  home  in  the  spring,  and  endeavor  to  return  before 
winter,  whether  they  have  killed  any  whales  or  not.  But 
with  all  their  caution,  'he  seamen  are  occasionally  "  beset," 


144  ICEBERGS. 

as  it  is  called,  in  the  ice,  and  instances  have  been  known 
in  which  they  have  been  compelled  to  remain  there.  Several 
years  ago,  eight  sailors  belonging  to  a  Russian  ship  were 
ashore  on  an  island  in  these  icy  seas,  when  their  vessel 
was  driven  away  by  a  sudden  storm,  and  was  unable  again 
to  reach  them.  They  were  therefore  compelled  to  remain 
there  through  the  terrible  winter ;  and  not  only  one  ; 
another,  and  another,  and  another,  even  four  long  dismal 
winters,  they  passed  in  that  horrible  place,  before  they 
were  accidentally  discovered  and  relieved  by  the  crew  of 
another  ship.  When  first  aware  that  they  were  deserted 
by  their  own  vessel,  they  were  stupified  with  grief,  and 
resigned  themselves  to  despair ;  but  at  length  they  took 
courage,  and  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as  they 
could;  making  a  hut  for  themselves,  with  many  pre- 
cautions to  keep  out  the  cold.  They  killed  bears,  foxes, 
and  seals ;  and  while  they  ate  the  flesh  of  these  animals, 
either  fresh,  or  else  preserved  by  frost  and  buried  in  snow, 
they  clothed  themselves  with  the  skins,  and  burned  the  fat 
instead  of  oil  in  lamps.  They  needed  lamps  both  for  the 


ICKBERGS.  145 

heat  they  gave,  and  for  light  during  the  long  nignt ;  for  in 
those  climates  the  winter  is  all  night,  and  the  suu  never 
rises  for  several  months  at  a  time.  In  summer,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  does  not  set  for  months,  but  travels  round  and 
round  the  sky,  plainly  seen  through  every  part  of  the 
twenty-four  hours. 


THE  EAGLE. 

I  HAVE  been  telling  you  of  some  instances,  in  which  the 
skill,  and  power,  and  energy  of  man  are  very  remarkable  ; 
but  if  these  excite  our  wonder,  how  much  more  won- 
derful, beyond  our  utmost  thought,  is  the  power  and 
wisdom  of  God!  Man  turns  the  substances  which  he 
finds  to  his  own  use  ;  but  God  gave  them  the  different  pro- 
perties which  make  them  Ufeful ;  man  overcomes  and 
tames  the  wild  beasts,  but  God  made  both  him  and  them, 
and  gave  to  the  one  the  strength  and  gentleness  which 
make  them  valuable  servants  ;  and  to  the  other,  the  reason 
and  thoughtfulness  which  enable  him  to  subdue  them. 

All  the  works  of  God  are  perfect ;  entirely,  absolutely 
perfect.  The  very  best  of  human  performances  has  some 

fault  or  defect,  something  that  could  have  been  made  bet- 
116 


Sea-Eagle  and  Osprey. 
147     • 


THE  V4GLE.  149 

ter ;  but  the  objects  that  God  has  created  could  never  be 
improved. 

Look  at  the  flight  of  a  bird,  an  eagle  for  instance  ;  how 
boldly  it  leaves  the  lofty  cliff  on  which  it  has  been 
sitting,  and  launches  forth  on  the  thin  air !  A  few 
strokes  with  its  powerful  wings  are  sufficient  to  shoot 
it  forward  a  vast  distance,  and  now  it  remains  calmly 
sailing  about  over  the  waves  below,  without  an  effort  that 
we  can  perceive.  His  bright  eye  is  glancing  in  every 
direction ;  suddenly  he  catches  sight  of  a  distant  object, 
that  looks  like  a  speck  on  the  bright  sky ;  like  an  arrow 
he  rushes  to  the  spot,  and  in  an  instant  he  is  there ! 
What  is  it  that  has  caught  his  attention,  and  awakened 
all  his  powers  so  suddenly !  It  is  an  osprey,  which  has 
caught  a  fish,  and  is  bearing  it  away  in  his  talons  to  his 
nest.  The  eagle  attacks  him  in  the  air,  while  the  poor 
osprey,  being  a  bird  inferior  in  strength,  and  being  en- 
cumbered also  by  the  heavy  fish  which  he  is  carrying,  is 
compelled  to  drop  his  prey.  The  eagle  closes  his  wings, 
and  rushes  down  upon  it,  seizing  it  before  it  reaches  the 


150  THE  EAGLE. 

water,  when  he  sails  home  to  devour  it  at  leisure — a 
hateful  example  of  the  way  in  which  tyrannical  power 
sometimes  prevails  over  honest  industry.  But  I  was 
speaking  of  the  powers  of  this  bird,  and  the  perfect 
manner  in  which  these  are  fitted  for  the  work  it  has  to 
do ;  and  we  must  not  forget,  that  in  speaking  of  animals, 
we  are  not  to  judge  of  their  actions  by  the  laws  of  right 
and  wrong,  which  God  has  given  to  govern  ours.  We 
do  not  know  that  they  are  at  all  conscious  of  right  and 
wrong;  and  if  not,  the  instincts  which  they  follow  are 
given  them  by  Him  who  does  all  things  well. 

Flight  is,  in  itself,  a  very  surprising  thing.  Perhaps 
you  have  read  of  the  many  attempts  that  have  been  made 
by  men  at  various  times,  to  fly  through  the  air,  but 
hitherto,  human  skill  has  not  been  able  to  effect  it.  The 
invention  of  balloons  has,  it  is  true,  raised  people  to  a 
great  height  in  the  air,  but  that  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  flight ;  no  man  has  yet  discovered  any  means  of 
directing  his  motion  through  the  air.  We  do  not 
thoroughly  know  yet  how  a  bird  flies,  common  as  the 


THE  EAGLE.  151 

sight  is;  but  we  know  a  little  about  it.  The  body,  for 
instance,  is  very  hollow,  and  can  be  almost  filled  with  air ; 
the  bones  are  all  hollow,  and  the  feathers  with  which 
it  is  covered  are  exceedingly  light,  and  at  the  same  time 
strong ;  those  of  the  wings  and  tail  especially.  The 
blood,  also,  is  very  hot,  and  all  these  things  tend  to  make 
a  bird  much  lighter  than  any  other  animal;  while  the 
muscles  of  the  wings  are  remarkably  large  and  strong. 

The  feather  of  a  bird  is  a  very  curious  object,  and  one 
which  it  will  be  instructive  to  examine ;  because  you  may 
see  how  wisely  God  has  contrived  all  his  works,  and  how 
perfectly  he  has  made  them.  Get  a  feather,  then,  and 
hold  it  in  your  hand,  while  you  read  the  description  which 
I  am  going  to  give  you.  In  the  first  place,  remark  how 
very  strong  it  is  in  comparison  with  its  weight,  par- 
ticularly if  it  be  what  is  called  a  quill-feather ;  that  is,  one 
from  the  end  of  the  wings  or  tail.  The  shaft  that  runs 
through  the  whole  length,  is  composed  of  a  sort  of  pith, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  light ;  but  that  it  may  not  easily 
break,  it  is  enclosed  in  a  kind  of  rind,  which  is  hard, 


152  THE  EAGLE. 

and  polished,  and  very  tough.  The  shaft  is  hollowed  at 
the  lower  end  into  a  pipe,  or  tube,  called  the  quill,  (or 
sometimes  the  barrel,)  of  a  clear  horny  substance ;  and 
in  order  that  this  may  be  strengthened,  it  is  composed  of 
two  skins ;  the  fibres  of  the  inner  one  going  lengthwise, 
which  causes  a  quill  to  split  when  struck  with  the  nail 
in  making  a  pen ;  while  the  fibres  of  the  outer  skin  go 
round  and  round,  which  prevent  the  quill  from  splitting 
easily,  until  this  skin  has  been  first  scraped  off  with  the 
knife.  While  the  bird  is  alive,  a  number  of  blood-vessels 
fill  the  tube  of  the  feather,  but  these  shrivel  up,  after  death, 
into  the  dry  skin  which  we  find  inside  a  quill. 

Well,  this  is  the  shaft ;  but  we  see  on  each  side  of  the 
upper  part  a  set  of  thin  plates,  lying  very  regularly  and 
closely  on  each  other.  If  you  pick  off  one  of  these,  and 
look  attentively  at  it,  you  will  observe  that  it  has  at  its 
edge  another  set  of  little  branches.  In  the  wing  or  tail- 
feathers,  these  little  branches  hopk  into  one  another,  and 
those  of  one  plate  into  those  of  another,  so  that  the  whole 
surface  of  the  feather,  though  made  of  such  slight  materi 


THE  EAGLE.  ^53 

als,  will  resist  a  good  deal  of  force  before  it  will  open ; 
and  therefore  serves  to  strike  the  air  powerfully  in  flying. 
It  is  very  beautiful,  also,  to  observe  how  smoothly  the 
feathers  of  the  body  lie  over  one  another,  so  as  to  keep 
the  bird  warm,  and  not  to  ris*  up  at  the  edges,  when  it 
flies  swiftly. 


V 


YB  36044 


